


Maki (Book I)

by usermechanics



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: AU: µ's never happened, Awkward Romance, Clubbing, Dating, Double Dating, F/F, Idols, Maki goes to UTX, Music, Romance, Slow Romance, so does Eli
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 50,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usermechanics/pseuds/usermechanics
Summary: When she first laid eyes on Maki, Nico knew she'd found her muse. From that day forward, she never wanted to look back.
Relationships: Ayase Eli/Toujou Nozomi, Nishikino Maki/Yazawa Nico, Toujou Nozomi & Yazawa Nico
Comments: 18
Kudos: 32





	1. I Want to Start

**Author's Note:**

> So, 100 fics as usermechanics. I'm surprised I made it this far, and thus, I decided to take things back to basics: another NicoMaki fic, and this time, a longer-form one. I think I have a very interesting idea for them that I'm incredibly excited to share, and considering that it's NaNoWriMo, I don't have much of an excuse not to write it out.

_The best singers sound like they’re singing directly to you,_ read the whiteboard on the far left of her desk. It was a quote Nico heard long ago, one she couldn’t remember from whom, perhaps from one of her vocal coaches, but the words hit her so hard that it immediately became her mantra for her song-writing sessions. It was a routine for her; whenever she sat down at her desk with the intention of writing lyrics, she wrote that quote, as if to reinforce what her standard of writing should be.

After all, if she wanted to be the number one idol in the world, she would need to write number one idol-worthy songs, absolute masterpieces that nobody ever expected to hear with soaring melodies and equally-fitting lyrics. She’d need to write music that could move mountains, initiate world peace, end intergalactic conflicts, even.

With such lofty goals, it came to no surprise that she tore a page out of her notebook, a mess of ideas and phrases that didn’t sound quite right to her, balled it up, and threw it into her wastebasket. The ball of paper bounced against the rim and fell to the ground, missing its target and joining the collection of paper balls that failed to make the mark. Nico didn’t even notice; she returned her focus to the only part of her room that she had lit: the notebook, captured in the spotlight of her reading lamp. Those words were left in the dark.

Nico grumbled to herself, tapping her eraser against the page. She didn’t want to think about the amount of notebooks she had sacrificed to material that just didn’t work for her. It was certainly more than the amount of notebooks she used for all her schoolwork. Maybe it would have been a better use of her time to actually do some homework instead of sacrificing what could have been an English notebook on lyrics that she never found to be worthy of the harmonies she hadn’t even made for them.

The less she spoke about her staff paper notebook, a gift from Cotaro that she gave Nico because of its pink cover and the word “music” written across it in bubble letters that ended up being nothing more than wastebasket filler, the better. She could probably find someone who was actually _versed_ in music composition to help her out with that, as long as they knew what they were doing.

Nico put her pencil down with a defeated sigh. These nights came so often to her, where the spotlight was filled with the back of Nico’s head as she resoundingly resigned from her creative endeavors with a groan, the only mark on the page an indent from her forehead. She only pulled herself away from the page enough for her to look at the clock, which blared the time of 8:30 back to her in neon red. It was way too early for her to burn out. Maybe it was time for her to change topics.

Except that wouldn’t fly. Every idol needed to know how to sing a love song. They made up so much of the charts, and everywhere Nico went, she heard songs about love, about getting together, about kissing and making families and even the occasional one about marriage. As the days grew shorter and colder, she knew that they’d just be getting worse, with the radio clogged with songs about Christmas and the young love that came with it. Nico couldn’t _not_ miss this prominent genre of songwriting.

Maybe if she knew what it felt like, it’d be easier.

Nico sat back up, throwing herself into the ring once more. She turned to her left, looking at her whiteboard and what she wrote, and the pink stuffed rabbit that leaned against it. She grabbed her lamp and tilted it so the light shone on the stuffed animal, and she squinted at it. She felt the gears in her head turning, but instead of words, all she could think of was how painful it felt to feel them grinding in her head. It was like she was working on a math test, figuring out an equation that would tell her what love was like.

The rabbit stared back with the same lifeless expression it always had, not responding as Nico mouthed an “I love you” as a desperate attempt to get in the mood. If she could sing to anyone, she could sing to her stuffed animals and get a reaction, in theory. Alas, the rabbit was unmoving. Nico pouted, resting her hands against the table. She pushed her chair back with her hips and stood up, taking a few steps away from her desk and towards the light switch.

Nico closed her eyes, reeling from how much the light filled the room, and once she opened them, she was greeted to the pastel-yellow walls of her room, covered with pictures of idols (including a few pictures of herself) and pink stars and diamonds. She had been aware enough not to hit her leg against the small table in the room, her “snack table,” as it were. Heading away from her door were her stuffed animals resting on the bed and the desk right next to it, where she’d be returning to once she got back in the spirit.

What mattered to her most, though, was her mirror. She turned to face it and stared down her reflection, the determined gleam in its eyes and the serious half-smile on her face. Her white hoodie, with two ears flopping from it similar to a bunny’s, covered her head, its ears swaying slightly as Nico got into position, turning away from the reflection with a half smile. So it had come to this.

She turned around and threw her hands into the air, her middle and ring fingers curled. “Nico Nico Nii!~ Your heart belongs to Nico-Nico!” Her hands, fittingly made the shape of a heart as she spoke before falling into a salute. “I’m the number one idol in the world, Nico-Nii!”

It was something that her father gave her, that nickname, that idea of what an idol was. It was the last thing that she remembered about him, how he gave her a toy microphone and she babbled into it and she just loved the way that her parents gave her wide smiles. It was so much to her, and became even more as the time away from her father grew longer. It was always enough to give her a smile on her face.

But now, she felt a surge of dedication running through her. She felt like she could conquer the world. She was the number one idol in the world, and she was going to make sure the whole world knew. She faced her door, turned off the light, and headed to her desk, making sure not to injure herself on the way back.

Once more, she faced the illuminated page, once an empty abyss now a canvas for her ideas. She rested her right elbow against the desk and turned to face the stuffed rabbit once more, giving it a wide smile before declaring her love to it. Even if it didn’t respond, the silence was enough to elicit a giggle from Nico, and at that moment, she knew that she was ready to begin writing. She grabbed her pencil and put the lead to paper, drawing out the first line of the first character--

_BRRZZZZZ! BRRRZZZ!_

\--and ruining it as she jumped from the sound of her phone vibrating against her desk. Nico groaned and put her pencil down, wondering who could be messaging her at this hour. She grabbed her phone and turned it on, the image of herself against a hot pink backdrop cut off by a notification.

_Nozomi sent you a link!_

Of course it was Nozomi. If there was anyone who would message Nico at nine at night, it was Nozomi. Not that she minded seeing that mischievous, green-eyed smile whenever she turned on her phone and saw her contact image. Just, out of all the time in the world that she could have messaged her, it was when she was making headway into the hardest project she had ever come across.

Her phone buzzed in her hand.

_I think youd be interested in this Nicocchi!_

Nozomi sent an additional message, and she opened her messages. The message with the link was embedded, showing a picture of a jack-o-lantern where the pumpkin was black and the eyes were neon orange, with large triangle eyes and a sinister, fang-filled smile. Underneath, in flashy purple letters, were the words _Late Fall Bash!_

This could be interesting. She sent Nozomi a quick message before clicking on the link: _ill check this out_.

Nozomi sent her a message immediately, even before the link finished loading on her phone.

_^O^_

Nico shook her head, a mirthful smile playing on her lips. Classic Nozomi. She didn’t respond, though; before she could even touch her keys, her phone booted up its web app, giving her a white screen as it loaded up the website. Nico put her phone down, returning her focus to her project in the meanwhile. She hoped she still had what she had in mind, giving her stuffed rabbit her signature hand gesture in hopes that it would jog her memory.

After a bit of thought, she finally broke through the grinding of gears, finding words that made sense together and sounded cute coming from her voice. She turned to her writing compatriot and, after taking a deep breath, sang her lyrics aloud.

“I want to st--”

 _“GET DOWN, GET UP, PACK IT IN, DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! I LOVE DANCING MOONLIGHT!_ ”

Nico groaned, looking at her phone, practically bouncing on the desk as it blared whatever club music was playing. This had been the second time this party ruined her train of thought. Turning down the volume on her phone, part of her wanted to flip it over and pretend that it wasn’t even there so she could, for the third time, figure out what lyrics she wanted for her song (and, maybe if she were lucky, she’d figure out a melody as well).

The more she looked at her screen, though, the more it enticed her. Between the garish Halloween-esque decorum, complete with that image of the inverted jack-o-lantern that greeted her with the embed, at least the webmasters were smart enough to use a black background with white text. Nico squinted, scrolling past an image of a few people in high school in Halloween costumes before seeing what the commotion was about.

Big High School Late-Fall Bash! The site read in large, cursive letters. Underneath was a description in sans-serif font.

Open to all high schoolers in the Tokyo area! The Roppongi Experience! Only ¥2000! 10/11! Be there or be scare!

Nico rolled her eyes at the pun, and brought her phone to the desk, but before she could let go of it, it vibrated in her hand. She looked at the screen, which now showed a picture of Nozomi’s contact image, along with two buttons telling her to pick up or hang up. Nico would never hang Nozomi up. She brought the phone to her ear, letting out a deep sigh.

“Hiya, Nicocchi!”

“What do you want, Nozomi?”

“I was just wondering if you wanted to go to that party I texted you about!”

Nico tapped her foot against the ground, pushing her chair closer to her desk. “I was just reading up about that,” she said. “What’s the big deal about it?”

Nozomi let out a gasp that sounded hurt. “Wow, Nicocchi! I want to do something awesome with you. At least, something more exciting than being in your room all day.” She giggled after finishing, trying her best to keep her hurt tone as she continued. “It’s the biggest party of the year!”

“Nozomi,” Nico said, “I’m not good with parties. I try introducing myself to people and they laugh. Just because you’re able to handle social situations doesn’t mean that I can--”

“It’s a party befitting the number one idol in the world!”

Of course Nozomi had to say that. Even if it was clear what she was doing, there was just a part of her that wanted to take the bait.

“Come on, Nicocchi! You might even find someone there!”

If there was ever a person who could convince Nico to go to a party like this, it was Nozomi, and she was doing her job well. As much as she wanted to say something about how the number one idol in the world was “above partying,” the idea of finding a special someone did seem enticing to her, in a weird way. At the very least, it could be a launching point for a lot of ideas. Turning to look at her whiteboard, Nozomi continued.

“I think it’d be helpful if you’re still thinking of writin’ songs, Nicocchi.”

Nico squeezed her phone, feeling a warmth rush up her back. “I am _not_ writing songs right now, Nozomi!”

Nozomi giggled. “That kind of accusatory tone says otherwise, Nicocchi. Anyway, if you want to go, we can go together! Think of it like a girls’ night out!”

If only Nozomi could see how much she was rolling her eyes at that comment. Leave it to her to make something sound so outrageously corny. Yet, even through that corniness, she couldn’t help but feel attracted to the idea. It had been awhile since she did anything meaningful with Nozomi, especially since they were put in different classes for their third year…

“That sounds like a good idea!” Nico said against her better judgment. It hurt getting those words out, but it was so worthwhile hearing Nozomi yell joyously into the phone, even if it meant she had to recoil at how suddenly loud she was.

“Yay!” Nozomi yelled. “I’m so excited! Do ya have a costume you wanna wear, Nicocchi? It’s a costume party!”

Nico shrugged. “I think I can think of something,” she said, before hearing Nozomi giggling on her end. She spoke up before she could be interrupted, making sure the idea Nozomi definitely thought was “genius” wasn’t spoken: “and I’m _not_ going to wear those bunny ears, Nozomi!”

“It was such a cute costume, Nicocchi!”

“That was two years ago, Nozomi!”

“So? You’d probably still fit in it!”

Nozomi’s laughter made clear that she was joking, but at the same time, Nico did not find it funny in the slightest. She looked down at her chest, as diminutive as it ever was, before looking up, muttering under her breath. “Look, Nozomi, just because I don’t have to get a new bikini ever summer doesn’t mean--”

“Nicocchi, I’m joking!” Nozomi reiterated, but it did barely anything to quell her anger.

“I’m not wearing the bunny suit though! I’ll probably go as something else!”

“What’d you go as for Halloween this year?” Nozomi asked, trying to change the subject.

Nico sighed. “I ended up helping with candy this year,” she replied. “Mama wanted to trick or treat with the siblings, and I wanted to make sure someone was at the door. I just put on some cat ears and wore that. I’m not sure it’s much of a Halloween costume.”

Nozomi hummed. “I see. I’m not sure that you _have_ to wear a costume. I’ll check on the website and… oh! You don’t if ya don’t wanna, but what’s the fun in that?”

“You have any ideas,” Nico asked, “that don’t include a bunny suit?”

Nozomi giggled. “You’ll have to give me a few to figure something out for you. Oh! Maybe you’d make a cute magical girl!”

Nico smiled at the idea. Magical girls were like idols, in a sense, but they had magical powers instead of microphones. They were definitely cute role models that wore cute outfits. She'd fit the role perfectly. “You know it, Nozomi!”

“You know I do, Nicocchi. Anyway, I’m gonna do a bit more homework, so I’ll talk to ya later, yea?”

“Mhm,” Nico nodded. “Have a good night!”

“You too, Nicocchi! I’ll talk to ya tomorrow!” Nozomi hung up, and Nico put her phone on the desk, screen facing downward. It was finally time for her to return to her work, staring at that illuminated piece of paper. It was her canvas, where she could put the world of her thoughts down and make them permanent. With the sole exception of that one scribble, that one stroke of a character long forgotten and mangled, the paper was blank, inviting Nico.

Putting her thoughts into words meant nothing when she was at a loss for them. It was clear what she was writing before the phone call, but it was much harder for her to think about it now that the party was on her mind. A Roppongi-style party, no less; part of her was excited just thinking about it and the other part of her was almost disgusted in herself for loving it. She had heard the stories of those kinds of parties, and how awful they could become. At the same time, maybe it was time for her to cut loose for a bit and enjoy her life. She had one more year before college constricted her time.

What helped soothe her was a quick glance back at her screen, and she read a few more words that she missed the first time: school ID required. At least there was no fear of things getting too out of hand. Maybe, if she read more about this party, it’d alleviate her concerns further and help her recognize that she indeed made a good call deciding to go.

Thus, for the fourth time, she ignored her paper and read through the website. Outside of where it was located, though, there was nothing important: just more pictures of parties before and a biography of the DJ who was going to be there. She put her phone down again once she reached the bottom, and returned to her notebook.

Nico discarded the page and threw it at the wastebasket, missing once again. Back to square one. Her eyes widened as she could see the cover through the final pages. She swore that she started using it only a few days ago; how could she almost be done with it?

Maybe Nozomi was right. She needed to do something to get her brain working, and maybe the party was exactly what she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the NicoMaki starts in the next chapter.


	2. I Want to Get to Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico goes to the party, and meets Maki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I didn't really expect this chapter to be so long. I don't really care, though. I think it's good to give Nico and Maki a bit of time to get to know each other.
> 
> Second off, I hope you guys enjoy this, now that I'm starting to get into the reasons why you're reading this fic now (i.e. the nkmk)!

Nico did make for a cute magical girl.

With her black hair in twintails adorned with light pink bows and a frilly, cream-colored dress with a pink skirt, Nico felt in her element. She stuck a pale arm out, twirling the plastic, glittery wand in her hand, smiling to herself as she watched herself in her reflection. It was almost like looking into an alternate reality, one where she could make dreams come true with magic over might. It was warming.

Nico brought the star-shaped tip to her lips, which were curled in the cheekiest smile she could muster. She could feel the blood rushing through her like she was on-stage, and as she struck a pose with her right foot forward and her right arm extending the wand out as far as she could towards the mirror, she cast her spell.

“Nico-Nii’s cast a love spell on you!”

She side-eyed her desk, particularly focusing on her stuffed bunny, which didn’t move. Maybe she could workshop that as a call at the start of a live if she could fit it into the list of calls she already made for when her dream career became a reality. She looked back to her reflection and pursed her lips, almost as if kissing the air and blowing her kiss to the mirror.

Maybe “sexy” wasn’t the kind of image she could take. She was much more a pastel pink magical girl over a fiery red. It didn’t stop her from posing with her hands at the top of her head, fingers pressed against her palm in her right hand like a drooping rabbit ear. That was more her speed, she realized, as she looked at herself in the mirror. This was more the image that she was looking for.

If only she could do something like this at the party without being laughed at. The rumors she heard about those Roppongi parties tended to favor the sexy over the cute. They were much more in Nozomi’s wheelhouse than her own; they seemed much more inviting to someone who didn’t see her skirt every time she looked down at her chest. As much as the magical girl outfit suited her, it felt like one of few she could have gone with without looking like a complete idiot.

“I’ll be going as an incomplete idiot,” Nico huffed, her wallowing quickly interrupted by percussive rasps against her door.

“Nico!” Her mom called out from behind the door. “Nozomi’s here and she’s looking for you!”

“She’s here!?” Nico asked incredulously, swiveling her head to check the time. 7:59. She was right on time. Where did all the time go, though? “Hold on one second!” She yelled, turning on her heel to open her wardrobe and grabbing a light pink purse. Slinging it over one of her shoulders, she was finally ready to go, and after closing the wardrobe, she headed for the door. As she opened it, she saw Nozomi and her mom sitting on opposite sides of a coffee table, with Cocoa, Cocoro, and Cotaro all clinging onto their mother. They all turned to face Nico, and smiled, with the kids peeling off of their mom and clinging instead to Nico’s ankles.

“So cool, onee-chan!” Cocoa yelled.

“That’s so cute!” Cocoro said.

“Nico-Nii,” Cotaro mumbled.

Nico bent her knees, giving each of her siblings pats on the head. “Hey, everyone!” Her siblings cooed and cheered as she gave them pats and smiles, along with her “Nico Nico Nii” flourish of hand gestures, which they were quick to imitate. After they imitated her, they scrambled to stand in a row, with Cocoa and Cocoro giving her warm smiles while Cotaro gave her his signature blank expression. Nico’s mom stepped away from the couch and behind her youngest kids, squatting down and scooping them all up in her arms for a big hug.

Nico stood up, and turned her attention to Nozomi, wearing what could barely be described as a sports goalie outfit: her striped shirt showed more than it covered and her shorts covered almost none of her thighs. As Nozomi struck a pose and grabbed the whistle that dangled from her neck and rested against her chest, Nico couldn’t help but feel weird. She tilted her head up so she could face Nozomi, not even thinking about how much more mature she looked.

Nozomi barged forward, her arms extended and ready to embrace Nico. Nico slowly opened her arms for her, and Nozomi crashed into her, suffocating Nico in her bosom. She looked up with frustration; she knew Nozomi couldn’t handle being taller or bustier, but it felt like salt in the wound all the same.

“Nicocchi!” Nozomi cried out, “you look so cute!”

Nico grinned. “I know. Where’d you get this outfit from, anyway?”

“Don’tcha know that the school chairwoman’s daughter’s into fashion design?”

“I did not,” Nico replied before pulling away slightly from Nozomi--at least, far enough away from her chest that she wasn’t smothered. “Aren’t you going to be cold wearing that?”

Nozomi tilted her head. “I brought a coat, Nicocchi.” It at least explained why Nozomi wasn’t absolutely freezing to the touch. Nico pulled away from the embrace, and Nozomi’s arms lingered around her for a second longer. “Should we get goin’?”

“I’m ready if you are,” Nico said. She wasn’t going to drag her feet through this. She had already done that enough just thinking about this party by herself. It was also difficult to say no to the smile on Nozomi’s face, one that grew as she processed Nico’s answer and tugged her over to the front door. She had almost forgotten that her family stood right behind her until she heard the chorus of “bye, Nico!” from them.

“Make sure not to be out for too long!”

Nico turned around, and her mother gave her a smile and that characteristic hand symbol: thumb, pointer, and pinky out. Nico gave her the exact same sign back before she put on her coat and kicked on her shoes.

As much as she wanted to wear something a bit thicker, nothing would fit the magical girl aesthetic quite like a pair of nude flats, shoes she wore for college auditions. If Nozomi could suffer baring her midriff in a club for a few hours, she could withstand the cold November night for the duration of a walk to the train station and a walk from the train station nearest the club to her final destination.

Once Nozomi tugged on her coat and zipped it up, covering her Halloween costume with a warm poofy purple, she looked at Nico, busily zipping up her own coat, smaller and pink. Once she finished, she flipped up her coat’s hood. Nozomi’s hand grazed Nico’s, capturing it, and Nico turned to face Nozomi, her expression asking what she was even doing.

“Just so we don’t get lost from each other,” Nozomi justified.

Nico looked at her for a few seconds, gave her a quick and curt nod, and faced the door once more, grabbing it and pushing it open. The cool night air greeted her cheeks, immediately pinking them. She slipped her hand into her pocket, and let Nozomi lead the way.

* * *

“This party sucks.”

“Come on, Nicocchi! We’re not even _in_ the club yet!”

“I know. That’s why it sucks.”

It was going to take awhile before they would be entering the club. The large, square, brick building taunted everyone in the line that wrapped around the perimeter of it with flashy, multi-color lights peeking out from foggy windows and a muted, throbbing rhythm of a kick drum to some song Nico could barely make out through the walls. It was oddly attractive; the more she stood next to the door, waiting for the group of gyaru who made Nozomi’s costume look wholesome to get with the program and take another step forward, the more she felt anticipation building up inside of her, and it was quickly reaching a fever pitch inside of her. Nico wanted in, but no matter how much she pulled and tugged, Nozomi stayed put, moving only when the line moved in front of her.

“Come on, Nozomi!” Nico groaned. “Do we really have to stand outside like this?”

“If you get out of line, you’ll be kicked to the back and it’ll take longer. I promise this’ll be worth it!”

“I hope it is,” Nico sneered.

Nozomi elbowed her. “Once you’re indoors,” she reasoned, “you won’t be outside and waiting. It’ll be entirely different!”

“I bet,” Nico said, eying the group of girls behind her, girls that looked like they went to an expensive high school without scholarships who were in kind turned away from Nico, flirting with some group of guys that were behind them in line and giggling all the while. If the people that were entering the club were like this, then certainly, Nico would have a bad time. They seemed like the kinds of people who would be mean to her for no reason.

“Nozomi,” Nico huffed, “do you know how many people will be here?”

Nozomi pursed her lips in thought. “I think there’s gonna be about a thousan’ or so.” Judging by the line alone, Nico believed it. At the very least, out of those thousand, there was going to be a cavalcade of characters, much more than the sample size of the cliques immediately flanking her, she hoped. It was that hope that led her to step out of line and check out if there was anyone, but she was quickly tugged back in line by Nozomi’s hand around her wrist.

“Nicocchi!” Nozomi scolded. “What on Earth are you doing?”

“I’m just seeing who’s in line,” Nico said, tilting her body so she was technically standing in line, but able to see a few more groups of people ahead. “Is this better?”

Nozomi smiled. “Tell me if you see anyone cute!”

“Trust me,” Nico said, looking over her shoulder. “Cuties will come to you. You don’t have to actively search people out like I do!”

Nozomi put a hand on Nico’s head, giving her a few pats. As embarrassing as it was, it was also incredibly soothing, and before she knew it, she was pushing her head into Nozomi’s palm. “You’ll find someone, I promise.”

Nico understood completely that Nozomi was just saying that to be nice. Even if there were people here who were interested in her, would they even be a good fit? They could have just been guys who saw that she was doing something similar to cosplaying a character from a cartoon and been completely abhorrent because of it. She immediately shook the thought off; that was a worry for when she was an actual official idol. Thinking about otaku could wait. She leaned, using Nozomi’s hand in hers as leverage as she desperately sought someone to take her mind off her rancid thoughts.

And two groups ahead of her, Nico found exactly what she was looking for.

She was tall, a whole head taller than the two girls who flanked her. Her hair was a fiery red, hiding the headband that sported two black cat ears. Even from far away, she could feel this mature aura radiating off of her; it felt like she was slightly older than Nico. Yet, none of that really spoke to her like her eyes. Sharp and radiantly purple, even if she were looking at her phone in disinterest Nico felt attracted to the intensity of her glare, even if her lips were sunk in a lazy frown that showed she was barely even thinking.

That distracted, yet focused gaze towards her phone immediately turned into a confused and helpless expression as one of her friends, a thin girl with an orange bob cut, linked arms with her and tugged her forward, her lips parting to let out a surprised gasp. It was honestly really cute, so refreshingly innocent; it was like Nico didn’t need to worry about being intimidated by her if she were so easily disarmed.

Nozomi pulled her away from her vantage spot and back into line. Nico yelped, the once-dreamy expression that was on her face immediately turning into an accusatory squint she pointed towards her friend. She swore that if looks could kill, she’d be free from Nozomi’s grasp so that she could talk to the mysterious redhead she just saw.

“Hey! What gives?” Nico asked.

Nozomi’s smile grew. ‘Someone found someone cute, I bet,” she replied before motioning towards the line and the gap between them and the group in front of them.

Nico stepped forward. “She was more than cute, Nozomi! I don’t know how to put it, but she was just…”

She really wished she had her pen and paper. Words weren’t able to capture the redhead’s beauty, not to the extent that poetry and music did. There was something so bewitching about her, even through the whiskers below her eyes and the dark spots on her cheeks. She knew that if she could, she could write an entire album’s worth of lyrics about her, all without even knowing her name.

 _...so perfect._ Her words weren’t even words, whatever huffs of air came out immediately snuffed by the music from the club. Nozomi watched Nico’s lips, reading them, and she wrapped an arm around Nico, pulling her in tightly.

“That’s so cute!” Nozomi cooed. “I thought ya were gonna have to look all night for someone. Looks like ya got someone already!”

Nico straightened up, her eyebrows furrowing. “Come on, Nozomi!” She whined. “Do you really have to say that?”

“Not my fault you’re easy to read, Nicocchi!” Nozomi giggled, resting herself against the club. “Hopefully I can be as lucky with this as you are!”

Nico grimaced, hiding her clenched teeth behind a smile. “I hope so too.” Given the redhead’s looks, she needed Nozomi’s luck. At least, they were about ready to turn the final corner of the club.

Time flew quickly as Nico idled with Nozomi, occasionally leaning out of line so she could take a glimpse of her target. It was so interesting just looking at her, seeing the way she seemed so intent even when it was clear just how bored she was. In one of those glimpses, both of her friends were at one side, and Nico saw exactly where the waistband of her black leggings were. Her legs were endless. The more time passed, the more she saw little things about her: her posture, the ease with which she stepped forward like every motion was choreographed, and the more irritated she got when Nico was tugged by Nozomi, all the way until they were stopped by a bouncer at the front of the door.

Nico reached into her bag and pulled out her identification, showcasing her status as a high school student. She was let in, and the warmth of the club welcomed her as much as the blaring lights and deafening rumble of bass. Nozomi was quick to follow her in, where they were immediately greeted to a baggage claim. Nico unzipped her coat and Nozomi did the same, giving the lanky man behind the counter their stuff. After getting numerical slips, they wandered off.

“Well!” Nozomi shouted, trying to be heard over the music. “I’ll let ya find your redhead! I’m gonna have some fun!” Nozomi ran off towards the dance floor, leaving Nico alone. She let out a sigh of relief, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of how enthusiastically Nozomi was just able to run off like that, like she was really ready to let loose for the night. Yet again, Nozomi was free, able to find someone whom she wanted to find. Nico still had to find the mystery redhead, and thus, Nico walked over to the dance floor.

In the corners of the dance floor were large speakers, subwoofers that came up to Nico’s chin topped with two speakers next to one another, each one feeling like it was blaring at max volume. A few meters away from each of them were square cushions which were large enough for Nico to lay upon no matter how she adjusted herself. And in the middle of those was a small group of people, each of them costumed, and she could see Nozomi intermingling with some of them; none of them, though, were the mystery redhead.

Nico sat down on one of the cushions, looking around her seat and wondering if she was just behind her. She was the only person sitting down on her cushion. She looked around at the other cushions and they were even more devoid of life. Even peeking around the ever-growing group of people proved that there was nobody sitting down except herself, and even there, the throbbing of the music was beckoning her to dance. She should have brought earplugs to drown it out.

Regardless, Nico stood up, if only to get away from the blasting music. As she walked between speakers, she saw lights, rows of multicolored lamps flashing different colors and filling the room with its strange, exotic colors. It was almost too loud for her to think about recoiling from the flashing lights. It was abusive to her senses, for sure, but she wanted to do a final scan, hoping that she had missed the redhead on her first pass.

The first pass became the second, and the second became the fifth, all without a sign of her. There wasn’t a single pair of black cat ears atop radiantly red locks that she could see, nor was there that oddly mature aura that surrounded her; it had been all swallowed up by the aggregating crowd senselessly pursuing itself and consolidating into an amalgamation of sweat. She could completely understand why the mysterious redhead wasn’t showing her face, and it was far beyond Nico being too short to scan the crowd and find her. Someone of her caliber and dignity didn’t deserve to be a part of that mess.

The redhead was a woman like Nozomi, but that was the one similarity they had.

Nico claimed defeat in her search with a groan, falling onto the closest cushion she could find. Her fingers gripped onto the white leather covering, feeling its oddly rough but smooth texture. It didn’t matter to her that the bass was boosting directly into her ears; it was better than exposing herself to the heat from the pile of bodies in the middle of the floor, which had become egregious enough for Nico to feel from her distance away. The redhead would find her way to the dance floor in time, and Nico needed not worry about it.

The leather cushion rose from under Nico, and she looked around, wondering who had joined her. The aggrieved tone she was about to give to her guest was neutered immediately when she saw who it was: it was the redhead, clad in her black shirt and leggings, with a cup of dark brown soda in her hand. She knew it from the marks on her face, the intense and disinterested glare, those radiant sharp and purple eyes. It was almost like a miracle had happened, and Nico had received her wish. She kept staring, hoping that the redhead didn’t mind being stared at.

The redhead’s lips wrapped around the straw, sucking down a bit of her drink, before pulling away and noticing Nico staring at her in the corner of her eye. She turned to face her, staring directly into her eyes. It might have been the heat, or it might have been the staring, but Nico felt a surge of warmth rush through her spine.

“Can I help you?” The redhead asked, slight irritation in her voice. What a way to introduce herself. Such a beautiful voice, but at the same time, so pointed, provoked, like Nico missed an undercurrent of bitterness in her aura the first few glances she got of her. Yet again, she didn’t know whom she was dealing with, did she?

“How are you enjoying the party?” Nico asked, filling the silence between them with something besides club music cranked a bit too high.

She gave a shrug. “I’m not really into partying. I just had a few friends who pressured me into trying this one.”

Nico’s smile grew slightly. “Same here. I had my wrist twisted by my best friend to come here. It’s much more her thing than it is mine.” She gestured to the crowd, and Nozomi peeked out of it for a few seconds before slipping back in. “She’s the girl in the _referee_ costume,” Nico said, giving air quotes for what Nozomi excused her costume as.

The redhead kicked her legs out. Nico didn’t even bother mirroring the motion; they were so much longer than hers. “Seems like she’s having fun, though. I hope Rin and Hanayo are having fun…”

Nico tilted her head. “Who?”

“They’re the friends that dragged me here.” She said, a slight flush forming in her cheeks as she realized she hadn’t even introduced herself. “I’m Nishikino Maki, by the way.” Maki’s lips curled into a slight smile, much more inviting than how she was before.

“Like, _the_ Nishikino?” Nico asked, not realizing that it would be a question that left Maki glaring at her disapprovingly. If she were someone with a name like Nishikino, she would have worn it with pride, but it seemed like a sore spot for Maki.

“Yes,” she said, annoyance clear in her tone. “ _The_ Nishikino. I’d prefer if we didn’t talk about that, though.”

“I’m Yazawa Nico-N--” Nico stopped herself before she could go on, realizing that she was talking to a potential suitor. “I’m a third year student at Otonokizaka. What about you?”

“I’m a first year at UTX.”

Nico’s eyes widened. Maki was a _first year_? With her build? With her mature aura? She was two years younger than Nico? Well, if she was a first year, it made sense that she’d be going to UTX of all schools. It made her think of the rejection letter she got from that school personally.

“I wanted to go to Otonokizaka,” Maki said, “but my parents made me go to UTX because it has a better chance of me ending up going to a high-tier medical school.”

“But you’re going to UTX!” Nico remarked. None of what Maki said was making any sense, but it made for great conversation; it was definitely better than being out there, grinding against some nobody she didn’t know. “Why would you want to go to Otonoki?”

“The atmosphere.” Maki said. “UTX is incredibly cutthroat. It reminds me of all the stress I have from my parents about doing the best that I can do and forcing me to do something I don’t want to do.”

Nico breathed in, ready to reply to her answer, but the more she thought about it, the more thought-out it seemed. It was surprisingly mature.

“My parents think I’m out at the library studying, actually,” Maki added. “They’d kill me if they knew that I was doing something like this. And even if I don’t really like partying,” she said, taking a pause and reaching for one of Nico’s hands, “it’s nice being able to do something that I wanted to try out.”

Nico smiled, resting one of her hands against Maki’s. She looked down, seeing how large her hands were, fingers long and elegant. Nico pulled her hand away, not wanting to show Maki just how much her hand was dwarfed by Maki’s. “I see. I’m glad my mama was understanding enough to let me go without much complaint.” She said, kicking her legs out as far as she could.

“I wish my parents were like that,” Maki replied.

“Well, uh, maybe you can meet mine sometime.”

Nico hadn’t even realized what she said until the words had come out, her eyes growing wide as Maki cocked an eyebrow, as if she were wondering if she heard Nico’s comment correctly. As she recognized what she said, Maki’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You can’t just ask something like that!” She said. “What’s with you?”

As quickly as Maki took the offensive, Nico did as well. “Hey! It’s not my fault that I think of you as a friend!”

It was a good save, and one that gave her the momentum as the only reply Maki could give was a “ueh!?” Nico smiled as Maki’s gaze looked elsewhere, her own not moving from Maki’s eyes.

“That’s cool, right? If we can see each other more often?” Nico asked, her voice softening as she spoke each word. She couldn’t believe what she was saying. It felt miraculous, being able to express herself like that and make clear what she really wanted from her. She wanted to close the distance. She wanted to spend more time with her.

She wanted to be with her.

“I guess…” Maki mumbled, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the music.

“What was that?” Nico asked, leaning in. “It’s too loud in here!”

“I said I’d be fine with it!” Maki yelled, her voice pointed but loud enough to be heard clearly.

Nico smiled. “Sounds good to me! What’s your number?”

Maki reached up with one of her hands to idly twirl one of her locks. “I’ll give it to you when we leave here.”

“Are you willing to promise that?” Nico asked, lifting one of her hands and sticking out her pinky finger. “Like, pinky promise it?”

“Eh?” Maki asked, the spinning of her finger in her hair speeding up slightly. Maki’s cheeks grew even redder, until they matched the color of her hair, and her gaze was lost, confused, even. She was on the back foot, and Nico stepped forward by giving her a smile, turning her wrist and leading her pinky with it.

After a few seconds, Maki nervously pulled her hand away from her hair to interlock her pinky with Nico’s. Nico curled her pinky around Maki’s, her smile growing as she looked at Maki’s flushed face. She was trying to express _some_ kind of expression between confusion, disgust, and comfort, her finger curling around Nico’s with the same kind of intensity Nico would have given coloring with her siblings.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Nico asked, tilting her head as she pulled her hand away from Maki’s. “It’s a bit, well.”

“Stuffy? Loud? Annoying?” Maki rattled a few answers to her question, each one as correct as the one prior. Nico hummed, barely audible over the throbbing music.

“Any of those,” she remarked, giving a slight shrug. “I think I found the best thing this club has to offer.”

“Eh!” Maki’s noise was one which was a mixture of adoration and disgust; the smile she wanted to give by being told something so cute was muted by just how cheesy it sounded to her. She flushed redder, returned her hand to her locks, and looked away. Nico kept looking at her, the nervousness that coursed through Maki, the way she darted her eyes around the room looking for something else to look at. She was just so _beautiful_ , even as she idled around. It was like Nico was staring at an angel, and not one of those from those really boring and insane texts that made angels out to be ugly.

Maki was a halo-wearing angel who wore a white gown despite being in a black shirt and leggings.

Nico reached forward, but Maki batted her hand away. “What are you doing?” Maki asked.

“I’m gonna see if there’s anywhere in this club that’s a bit more quiet than here. I’m getting a headache.” Nico said, grabbing the smacked hand with her other hand, dramatically over-nursing her injury.. “Want to come with?” Nico tilted her head and gave her a wide smile, one that she hoped would convince Maki to join her.

Maki stood up and stayed put, looking at Nico sitting next to her. “Well, I might as well,” she said, tapping her foot against the floor as she waited for Nico to stand up next to her. “I should probably talk with Rin and Hanayo and see if they’re fine with me doi--”

“Relax, Maki,” Nico said. “You’re at the club. It’s a place where you’re meant to let loose. At least, that’s what Nozomi told me.”

“Nozomi?” Maki asked.

“The friend that dragged me here.”

Maki nodded idly. “I see.”

“Anyway,” Nico said, grabbing Maki by the wrist and tugging her forward. “Let’s explore!”

As Nico roamed the perimeter of the dance floor, she realized that there really wasn’t much of anything that she could explore. Attached by a few staircases was a bar, which had a few people leaning against it. It was the first place--the only place from where she was--where she could go which wasn’t the floor, and with Maki’s wrist in her hand, she led her there, despite the pleas from Maki that she already had a drink in her hand, even if it was almost gone.

“Where else is there to go besides here?” Nico asked, motioning around the bar. In one direction, there was the dance floor, where Nico really didn’t want to go again; even if the bar wasn’t that far away, she could feel some level of peace of mind coming to her, the air less heavy with the scent of a combination of different body odors and heats. In the other direction, though, there was a long hall, one that seemed to lead to a staircase once far enough to the left, and a door that was opened on the right. Nico peeked, seeing that it was opening up to what was probably an outdoor smoking section for an adult night out; for them, it was probably just a place to get some fresh air.

“There, for once,” Maki pointed at the door Nico was staring at before moving the arm Nico grabbed at, mockingly pulling her. “Shall we?” Maki asked, a small smirk playing on the corners of her lips that Nico found simply irresistible.

“Good idea,” Nico said, letting Maki take the lead as she wandered towards the outdoor area, following a few steps behind. It was like a dream; she didn’t think when she first saw her that she’d be taking her somewhere. Yet, as the cool air grazed her sweat-drenched skin, it was a reality. The outdoor area was pretty small, barricaded by a wooden fence with a cement floor. In the corner, there was an electronic piano, one similar to the one she spent all her after-school time playing on, finding the best chords to her songs, or plucking out melodies.

Nico didn’t need any of that. Maki was a treasure trove of songs, and as she saw the piano, she tugged her towards it.

“You play, too?” Maki asked as they reached the piano, sitting down on the left side of the piano bench.

“A bit,” Nico said, walking over towards the right side of the bench and sitting down. The throbbing bass was still a nuisance, but there was enough silence in the air that, when Nico pressed the power button and tapped a few keys, she could hear the piano. She turned to look at Maki with a small smile. “But I’d love to play for you. I’m a singer, after all.”

“Really?” Maki asked, resting a shoulder on the keyboard right next to the keys. “I’d love to hear it,” she said, leaning onto the piano.

Nico cleared her throat, and found her first chord. As she pushed the keys down, and they sounded, she looked at Maki, and started singing.

“ _I love you, hooray!_ ”

As Nico sang her song, she slowly plucked out her chords, feeling her heart race and her hands become shaky. It was an original song, one that she didn’t realize the words, melody, or chords to until she sang them and played them. She ran entirely on the desire she had to make Maki happy, to impress this beautiful UTX student enough for her to see each other on equal footing, and with a love song, all on top of that. The one song style she never thought she’d be able to sing, and she did it, on the fly. Even if it were only for twelve bars, Nico felt tired after she finished, a half-minute of music feeling like hours to play, her emotions all condensed in one chorus.

And Maki clapped, a smile on her face. “That’s really pretty,” she said.

“Thank you!” Nico said, scooting slightly so she could listen to Maki play. “Can I hear you play a bit?”

Maki flushed, but she leaned towards the center of the piano, her right foot searching for a pedal. After a few frustrated taps and nothing found, she started anyway.

Maki’s hands were unfollowable and the music was simply amazing, far beyond what she had expected to hear from her. It astonished her the way she played, taking control of the entire keyboard and bending it to her will. It was such a far cry from the chords she played to accompany herself, and the music she played was simply beautiful; she wasn’t just showing off how fast her hands could play. She was showing off her talent, her dedication and love for the piano, all in about a minute’s worth of music.

Nico clapped. It’d be wrong not to clap. Even if she were a stranger to Nico, Nico would have clapped. “That was amazing!”

Maki nodded. “Thank you. I wish I could play piano more, but my parents aren’t fans of me doing it.”

“Why not?” Nico asked.

“Why do you want to know?” Maki shot back, irritation clear in her voice. It was enough to stun Nico, leaving her wordless. As Maki looked at her expression, her countenance soon mirrored Nico’s, a mixture of shock and sadness. Still, she held herself tall.

“Sorry…” Nico whimpered. “I really am.”

As much as Maki looked like she wanted to stay indignant, something caught the better of her, and she slumped. “I’m not really used to having people talk with me. I’m sorry about that.”

“Hey, it’s fine!” Nico said. “I didn’t know I was hitting a sore spot.”

Maki gave her a small smile. “Maybe when we get to know each other better, we’ll be able to talk about it.” She rested her hand atop Nico’s, completely covering it.

“You think so?” Nico asked.

“I know so.” Maki said, her smile growing. As Nico looked at her, and the confidence she radiated in her smile, she smiled back, growing slightly wider than Maki’s.

The biggest night of her life was closed off with Maki’s hand in hers, with them idly sitting next to each other, only moving to scoot closer to each other.

* * *

“Did ya get to meet up with the redhead?”

Nozomi’s question lingered through the cool air, the excitement in her voice almost tangible to the touch. It had been the first question Nozomi had asked Nico since they left the club, the silence between the two of them palpable throughout their time walking to the closest station and riding the train (although the silence on the train was much more out of courtesy to the others). Now that they were finally out of the station closest to their homes, Nozomi felt it was a good idea to start conversation.

“Her name is Maki,” Nico replied, thumbing through her phone. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in talking with her best friend; rather, she was pulling out her contact, proof that she had indeed spent her time with her. She gave Nozomi her phone with the contact,complete with a picture of her looking three-quarters at the camera, tilted to the left, against the wooden backdrop of the outdoor area of the club.

“Lemme see!” Nozomi cooed as she grabbed Nico’s phone from her hand and checked out her photo, her name, and everything else. “The Nishikino?” Nozomi asked.

“Yes,” Nico sighed. “Don’t mention it to her, though. She feels the name’s a bit of a burden.”

“I’d see it as a burden too, if I had a last name like that,” Nozomi replied before focusing on Nico’s phone, tapping at it rampantly for a few seconds, enough time for Nico to show some concern.

“What are you doing, Nozomi?” Nico asked.

“I just sent her a text, Nicocchi!” Nozomi said, giving back her phone with pride. Nico’s eyes widened and she looked at her phone screen, seeing the message Nozomi sent her.

_I had so much fun Maki-chan!_

“Maki-chan?” Nico asked, noting the honorific. “Do I call anyone -chan, Nozomi?”

“Come on,” Nozomi whined, her voice equally teasing and helpful. “I wanted to make it look like you had some real fun!”

“I’m sure Maki will buy that excuse.” Nico said, returning her attention to her screen. She knew the route to her apartment by heart, so she let her feet walk while she put her attention to her phone screen and Nozomi, ever the helper. Part of her wanted to scream at her, but that part was quickly muffled when her phone vibrated in her hand.

_I had fun too._

Nozomi looked over Nico’s shoulder, reading the message on her phone. “Looks like she liked it, Nicocchi. Hopefully you and Maki- _chan_ ,” Nozomi said, emphasizing that honorific, “get to talk again sometime soon.”

After a bit more walking, Nico glanced over to Nozomi. Her fists were balled up right next to her chest, her body wiggling slightly with each step she took. As much as she knew it was a good thing, it was slightly concerning to see.

“Nozomi?” Nico asked. “You’re scaring me.”

“But I told you the party would be worth it, and I was right!” Nozomi said, almost like she had made a bet with her and won. “You got to meet Maki, and honestly, she looks really cute! You two would be a great match!”

Nico rolled her eyes, although she really appreciated the thought. “What about you, Nozomi? Did you talk with anyone or get anyone’s number?”

“There was this one girl that I got a number from. She’s tall and apparently she goes to UTX. Her name’s Eli, and she’s blonde and has really good legs...” Nozomi trailed off in her thoughts.

“That’s enough from you, Nozomi. I’m glad you found someone there.”

“Thank you, Nicocchi!”

“Don’t mention it. Like, seriously, don’t.” Nico said as they came to a fork in the road. Nico pointed in the direction that didn’t lead to her place. “Isn’t your apartment this way?”

Nozomi tilted her head before looking down the path. She turned to face Nico and gave her a nod. “Well, I’m off! Tell the kids I say hi!”

“I will,” Nico said, watching as Nozomi went down her own path. Nico continued down her own, not stopping until she reached home. Once she was at her place, she opened the door, the warm air grazing her cheeks; it felt so good to be home.

“I’m home!” Nico said, her voice loud enough to get her mother’s attention, but quiet enough not to wake her siblings. Kicking her shoes off and closing the door behind her, she walked into the main room, making a beeline for her room.

“Welcome home!” Her mom said from the couch. “Did you have fun?” 

“Tons,” Nico replied as she opened the door and slipped into her room. She knew that she’d have to talk about it later, but for now, all that was on her mind was the text message Maki sent her, her phone screen brightening up her room until the moment she turned on her light. 

She took her socks off and stripped out of her outfit, putting it away in her wardrobe. She grabbed an oversized tee-shirt and threw it on, letting it stand as her pajamas for the night. Then, she turned her focus to her phone once more, looking at the message. She wandered to her desk and sat down on her chair, deciding the best move was to just go for it.

_You want to hang out sometime soon?_

Putting her phone down, she looked at the notebook tucked in the corner of her desk. She grabbed it, along with a pencil nearby, and got to work. Just the thought of Maki made it easy for her to remember the words that came so easily to her when she serenaded her, the melody coming just as naturally to her. Even if she didn’t have sheet music to write it down, the lyrics, she hoped, were enough to help her. Either way, she put the chords above the lyrics, in case she needed to remember.

As she finished her chorus, her phone buzzed. She grabbed it and read the message.

_You’re so forward._

Nico pouted, but she was working on another message.

_Does next Saturday work for you?_

Nico’s pout immediately became a smile. That was what she wanted to see. Her serenade wooed Maki, even if she had immediately discredited it; she sang it _to_ her, and as sheltered as she was, it was clear that she had some sort of adoration of what she did.

She was planning her first date with Maki. She wasn’t going to call it that in front of her, though.

_Sounds great to me! See you Saturday!_


	3. I Want to Know You Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Maki, along with Nozomi and Eli, go on their first double date.

“Nicocchi, tell me about your date…”

“Nozomi, no. I love you, but no.”

“Why not?” Nozomi whined, dramatically falling onto the snack table and making sure not to touch the cupcakes or tea, but a few chips leaked from a nearby bag. “What’s the point of having me over if you’re not gonna be telling me the 411?”

Nico hufed, bringing her elbows to the table and leaning on her hands. “There’s plenty of reasons why I shouldn’t be telling _you_ , of all people, what I have planned for my first date with Maki-chan.”

Nozomi perked up. “Maki-chan?”

Nico sat up and pointed an accusatory finger at Nozomi. “That’s entirely your fault, by the way. Because of you she started calling me Nico-chan.”

Nozomi tilted her head, her expression a bit confused. “You find something wrong with that, Nicocchi?”

“I don’t know,” Nico said, “just the idea of Maki-chan calling me that feels a bit awkward.” She reached for her cup of tea and gave it a long sip, appreciating just how much honey she was able to put in such a tiny cup.

“Seems like you’ve already gotten used to calling her Maki-chan though,” Nozomi remarked. “I think you’ll get used to her calling ya Nico-chan.”

Nico pulled away from her cup just to give Nozomi a rather dismissive “whatever.” She returned to her cup, taking another long draw of her tea.

Nozomi leaned forward a bit more. “Come on, Nicocchi!” She said. “It’s cute! I’m just surprised you’d call her that. I mean, you don’t call me Nozomi-chan although we’ve been best friends since at least the beginning of high school!”

“You’re not Maki-chan, Nozomi. I didn’t serenade you with some song that came to the top of my head when I first met you, now did I?”

Even if Nico was trying to provoke Nozomi and be confrontational, Nozomi did not see it like that at all. Her smile was wide as she pulled herself away from the table, her hands clutching one another right below her chin. “Oooh!” Nozomi cooed loudly and longly, her lips curling almost painfully into an even greater smile as she spoke. “Quite the charmer, Nicocchi! Did you really do that for Maki-chan?”

Nico’s eyes widened as she realized what she exactly said, her cheeks flushing a deep red. She really just said that to Nozomi, about how she first met Maki and _sang_ to her. A few seconds of silence filled the air between them before Nico grabbed a strawberry cupcake off the table, bringing it to her lips to cover them. “Be quiet.”

Nozomi’s smile was wide, and her gaze grew pointed. “I never thought you would sing for anyone!”

“I said be quiet.” Nico said, finding solace in the first bite of her cupcake: sweet, fluffy, accentuated by a light and creamy vanilla frosting. Even if she was embarrassed by Nozomi twisting the knife she stabbed herself with by telling her about Maki’s song, it was nothing the sweetness of a cupcake couldn’t fix. 

“But it’s cute!”

Maybe the cupcake couldn’t fix it. “Nozomi, I _said_ \--”

Nozomi leaned forward, propping herself up by her elbows pressing against the table. “So, Nicocchi, what are ya gonna do for your date?”

“Nozomi, no.”

“Nozomi, yes,” Nozomi replied, leaning even more against the table. If she weren’t careful, she’d probably hit a cupcake with her chest, Nico humored to herself. “Nozomi wants to know what her best friend is going to do for her date.”

“Well, Nozomi,” Nico said, grabbing her phone out of her pants pocket and turning it on to see her messages with Maki. They hadn’t a single bit of conversation since their discussion the night they met, discussing when their date was going to be. It was still some time away, enough time for them to be able to plan it out and still have a week to spare. “I don’t really know what I’m doing on my date. It’s a week away.”

“Ooh?” Nozomi asked, tilting her head. “You got any ideas?”

“I don’t know, Nozomi. _You’re_ the one who’s always picking up girls. Maki-chan’s my first date. Do you have any ideas?” Nico asked as she bit into her cupcake, leaving her with one final bite left in the wrapper.

Nozomi smiled, drumming her fingers against the table with one hand while grabbing her cup of tea with the other. “You remember that girl I was talking to you about, Elicchi?”

“What about her?” Nico asked.

“She goes to UTX too, remember?”

“Yeah, I do. That’s like the _one_ thing you told me about her besides her name,” Nico said, pulling the paper off of her cupcake so she could throw the last bit of it into her mouth. “What do you have in mind?”

“Maki goes to UTX too, right? Maybe she’d be more comfortable if she knew someone from, say, her school, on this date.”

“Does Eli have a job or something to fill her UTX schedule?” Nico asked, watching as Nozomi took a long sip of her tea. Her impatience got the better of her. “What are you even talking about?”

Nozomi pulled her cup away from her lips, her smile as warm as the drink she just imbibed. “What I’m saying, Nicocchi, is that I’d like to go on a double date with you, me and Elicchi, and you and Maki-chan.”

Nico wasn’t one to get good grades. One of the things that she loved most about her college plans and wanting to be an idol was that she didn’t have to think of the mathematics classes that haunted her every waking moment in high school, and she’d just have to sing a few songs--something she was actually good at. That said, Nico couldn’t have thought of anything dumber than going on a double date with Nozomi for several reasons: all of her reasons summed up to how Nozomi said she should go on a double date with her. It was the dumbest idea she could have ever thought about.

But, at the same time, how could she say no? It was for Maki’s sake, who would probably feel more comfortable if someone like Eli were around. Even then, how was it even possible for her to say no to her best friend?

“That’s a good idea.”

Nico didn’t think it was a good idea at all, but even if she preferred eating a dish of fugu cooked by a fast food cashier, she had been put in a corner.

Regardless of how much of the corner Nozomi saw, though, she smiled innocently. “I’ll text Elicchi! You said you and Maki-chan are going on your date next Saturday, right?”

Nico nodded. “Next Saturday, at 7:30. You better have a smart idea for what you want to do on this date of ours.”

Nozomi leaned forward and brought a hand to the top of Nico’s head, ruffling her hair. “Don’t you worry, Nicocchi! Elicchi and I are gonna find the absolute most perfect date spot in all of Tokyo! Trust me!”

If it weren’t for the head-patting that made her feel like a child, then Nozomi’s final words would have left Nico incredibly deceitful. She could think of a myriad of experiences where Nozomi had said to trust her and it ended up poorly--she swore to herself she’d never trust Nozomi with another roller coaster again--and that was not something she wanted to see Nozomi doing with her date. Sure, even if she was going to be more busy focusing on Eli, Nico didn’t want her first date--the _perfect_ first date--ruined by her boorishness, no offense to Nozomi.

Like Nozomi could read Nico’s thoughts, she added. “Hey, Nicocchi! You know I’m gonna be dating someone too, right? I’m not gonna ruin your date with Maki-chan, not when I can get closer to Elicchi.”

Nico sighed, putting her elbows on the table. “I guess you’re right. Sorry about doubting you.”

Nozomi smiled, but Nico could see a slight bit of concern in her gaze. “It’s okay, Nicocchi. I’ll get you the details for our date when Elicchi and I figure them out, okay?”

Nico tilted her head. “I guess so,” she said, bringing one of her hands to her side.

Nozomi’s phone blipped at her, and when she grabbed it, she stood up. “Oh, I need to go now!” She said, slipping a bag of chips into her pocket. “I’ll talk to you soon, Nicocchi!” She said as she headed for the door, with Nico standing up and following her out of her room.

“Bye, Nozomi!”

Nico shut the door behind her, not wanting to turn around and see the mess that they left on her snack table. Once she mustered up the courage to look, she saw a few bags scattered around, and a cupcake wrapper draped against the edge of the table. It wasn’t as bad as she thought, but what was on the table that scared her most wasn’t any of the snacks nor was it any of the cups for tea.

It was her phone. She scrambled to the table to grab it, and she turned it on, seeing the picture of herself she set as her lock screen. Opening her phone, she immediately opened her messages, looking desperately for Maki’s. Opening it, she was greeted to the same screen she would have been greeted to any day earlier: their messages from their first night together. Nico gulped: she completely forgot to ask for Maki’s input regarding a double date.

Her phone screen blared at her, and she squinted at it, closing her eyes before thumbing out her words. She hoped she knew what her keyboard was like on her phone, as she could feel every vibration with every “key” she pressed down. She could feel her heartbeat racing, like she was running a marathon, as she typed out her message. Nico only opened her eyes when she finished, and after a sigh of relief that she wrote the message correctly, she sent it.

_Maki-chan, one of my friends wants me to go on a double date. Are you cool with that?_

Nico could feel the shame running through her. UTX was a big school and there was no way that Maki actually knew Eli. That was all just pipe dreaming on Nozomi’s end, a way for her to be able to convince Nico to do this incredibly stupid thing. She couldn’t believe what she had done.

She believed it even less when Maki sent her a message quickly.

_I don’t see why not._

Nico breathed a sigh of relief. At least that solved a lot of the questions that she had running in her head, ones that she was thankful she didn’t need to ask Maki aloud and ones that faded into the back of her mind as she realized they were questions no longer worth thinking about. Maki was fine with it, no matter who was joining them.

Maybe it was best that way.

* * *

The cool, late Autumn air pinked Nico’s cheeks as she stood outside a station in the middle of downtown, the light from her phone and the streetlights above filling the area with light. The hand that didn’t hold her phone grasped onto her pink coat, bringing it tighter to her body. Her fingertips peeked out of her gloves and dug into the plush, her gaze looking around the area with a small frown.

Where _were_ they? Wasn’t this where they were supposed to meet? She looked at her phone: it was 6:44, minutes before they were supposed to all be there, and yet, she was the only one there. She knew that Nozomi had a bit of a penchant for being late, but what about Maki? What about Nozomi’s girlfriend? Did they understand how important it was to be on time for something so important as a date? Nico huffed, just looking at her phone.

What bothered Nico the most, though, was that there was just someone standing right next to her, a woman wearing a light blue windbreaker and knit cap which did nothing to hide her long, blonde hair. Nico was dwarfed by this blonde; she was taller than Nozomi by a few centimeters, and the more she stood there, the more Nico knew that she wasn’t going to be budging any time soon.

“May I help you?” Nico asked.

“Are you Nico?” The blonde asked.

Nico gasped, bringing her hands to her hips and squinting one of her eyes. “How do you know my name?” She asked, almost aggressively.

“I’m Eli, your friend Nozomi’s date.”

All of the aggression that Nico showed her immediately went away, her eyes going wide with shock that she’d be so aggressive to someone like Eli, a very important person in the context of the double date. She had been so rude to Nozomi about how she should treat Maki, and this was her first impression towards Nozomi’s girlfriend? It made her feel a bit sick inside. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t know you were Eli!”

“It’s fine,” Eli said. “When Maki told me that she had a date, I didn’t think she’d be so, well, short.”

“You know Maki-chan?” Nico asked. She wanted to know more about Eli now, if it meant learning a bit more about her date.

“Well, we don’t really talk that much, but we sometimes help out with the dance club. She’s the rehearsal pianist, and I do choreography when I’m not working with the student council.”

Nico brought her hands to her chest, crossing them and taking a slight step forward. “That’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’m a member and president of my school’s idol club!” She didn’t need to say she was the _only_ member, and that by default she was the president for that exact reason. “I hope to be an idol when I get out of school.”

“That’s an ambitious goal,” Eli said. “I never really got the appeal of school idols, though. I’ve helped out A-Rise with some of their choreography, but I never really got what’s so great about school idols.”

Nico would have been offended by Eli’s comment talking about how A-Rise was mediocre if it weren’t for the fact that she was talking to someone who knew A-Rise personally. They went to UTX, so it was a bit of a given that they would know each other in at least passing, but Eli _helped them out_. Eli was a part of the team that made A-Rise the stars they were, the icons; the inspirations. “You know A-Rise?”

Eli nodded. “Tsubasa’s in my homeroom, and she’s roped me into helping out with choreography before.” She said. “They’re really nice people once you get to know them.” She added, almost as if she were about to recount a long story about the first time Eli met Tsubasa.

“That’s insane!” Nico said. “There’s no group in the world like A-Rise! They’re so amazing!” There was no way she was going to stop talking about A-Rise at this rate to Eli. She couldn’t help herself. Even if A-Rise weren’t a thing back when she wanted to join UTX for high school, she knew about how they were going to focus on having a school idol club, something that Nico brought to Otonokizaka with much weaker results. A-Rise was her inspiration. Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju were goddesses upon men, members of a pantheon who decided to chill out and show off their idol glory to the masses because they could.

“I’ll let Tsubasa know you said that. I’m sure she’d appreciate hearing that from a fellow idol club president.” Eli said, giving her a wide smile.

Nico almost wanted to get on her knees to thank Eli, but she just stayed there and gave her a bow. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Nico kept giving her thanks, grabbing Eli’s hand and shaking it; anything she could do to show her gratitude she did. It didn’t matter who showed up; she just wanted to show her gratitude.”

“Oh, hi, Maki!”

Eli’s cue was enough for Nico to pull her hand away from Eli and direct her attention towards Maki, who was wearing a black coat adorned with fur around the ends of the sleeve and along the zipper. Without a hat to warm her head, her face was a few shades lighter than the redness of her hair, her eyes slightly wide with confusion at the sight that she had seen, and a frown on her lips.

“Hi, Eli! I hope Nico-chan wasn’t too much of a bother.”

Nico furrowed her eyebrows. “I am not a bother, Maki-chan!” Nico huffed, stomping her foot into the pavement with a muffled thump of her boot.

“I hope you weren’t,” Maki said as she closed the distance between them, the frown slowly curling upwards, “because I’m really excited to go on this date and get to know you better.”

Nico went silent, her cheeks reddening even more as Maki grabbed her by the hand. It felt so weird, and she could see Maki darting her gaze to Eli, almost as if she were asking for her approval. With a smile and nod from Eli, Maki looked back at Nico, who was trying to interlace her fingers with Maki’s.

“Same here,” Nico mumbled, just loud enough for Maki to hear it but quiet enough for a breeze to obscure her words to Eli. Not that it stopped Eli from giggling at them. It was truly quite a serene image, and Nico pulled Maki closer to her, their sides pressing up against one another, their faces flushing red. Nothing could break the tranquility.

“Nicocchi! Elicchi!”

A Nozomi charging towards the group broke the tranquility. Nico braced for impact; a reflex to hearing her name being yelled in Nozomi’s signature inflection, but as she braced herself, she watched as Nozomi charged directly towards Eli, wrapping her up in her arms the moment they came into contact. Eli did the same thing, gently wrapping her arms around Nozomi’s waist.

“How are you, Elicchi!?” Nozomi asked, a wide smile on her face.

“I’m great!” Eli replied, her gaze intently staring into Nozomi’s. “How are you?”

“You know,” Nozomi said, “my day was alright until I realized I get to go on a date with ya.”

Eli’s cheeks flushed slightly red, stifling a giggle with a hand resting against her lips. “Oh, Nozomi…”

“Oh, Elicchi…” Nozomi cooed, leaning in and brushing her nose against Eli’s.

Nico squeezed Maki’s hand, getting her attention. “Are you sure they’re on their first date?”

Maki shrugged. “Maybe. I wouldn’t know.”

Nico turned towards the two lovers busily embracing one another. “Hey, Eli! Nozomi! Where are we going for this date?” Nico asked, her voice loud enough to pull them out of their embrace and whispered sweet nothings. At the very least, Nico didn’t need to worry about Nozomi flirting with Maki if she kept this up.

Nozomi closed her eyes and tilted her head, a slight pink flush filling her cheeks like she had completely forgotten about Nico and Maki. “Hmm, where were we going, Elicchi? I forgot, and _you_ made the reservation,” As she spoke, Nozomi lost her focus on Nico and turned to face Eli, even poking her cheek in the process. She was not focusing on either of them at all.

Thankfully, Eli had an answer. “I had this one steak house downtown in mind. When Nozomi and I were talking about where to go, she said that she was interested in a place that served yakiniku, and this was the best place I could think of.”

Nico looked at Maki, and Maki looked at Nico, both of them sharing a slightly questionable look. They understood that this was a double date, but the way that Eli and Nozomi clinged to one another, and how they seemed to focus their attention on themselves--Nico could see the slight confusion in Maki’s eyes telling her that she didn’t know about Eli’s plans at all--made it feel like they were more interested in one another. It felt like the little conversation Nico could have with Nozomi or Eli had a window which was far past them; it was past them the moment Nozomi barged into the picture.

“Sounds good to me,” Nico said, and Maki nodded in kind. It was a comment Nico made more for the sake of politeness over anything else. As much as this was an awkward date already because of how attached Nozomi and Eli were at the hip, this _was_ a double date, and this _was_ something that Maki and Nico both signed up for. They couldn’t be rude, especially in Nico’s case.

With her hand in Maki’s, Nico tugged her forward, closer to Nozomi and Eli, waiting for them to take them to wherever they had in mind. “Lead the way!” Nico said, her comment more of a demand than a friendly push forward.

“Nico-chan!” Maki huffed, giving her a glare. “Be nice!”

Nico turned to face Maki. “I’m trying to get closer,” she justified. “This is a double date, not two dates that are conveniently happening at the same time, going to the same restaurant!”

“We’ll probably talk more when we’re at the restaurant, Nico-chan,” Maki retorted, pulling herself closer to Nico.

Nico looked at Maki with a slightly apologetic look, her lips curling into a slight frown. “Well, here’s hoping,” Nico said, leaning in and finding herself more comfortable against Maki’s form. Even if she were the smaller one, in front of Maki, she couldn’t help but feel comfortable in her warmth.

Maki nodded. “Don’t worry, Nico-chan. Eli will be sure to pry and ask questions.”

“Nozomi’s no better about it,” Nico huffed. “No wonder why they’re meant for each other.”

Maki pulled Nico slightly closer. She let out a slight hmph, and as Nico turned to look at her, she saw Maki pouting at her, twiddling her locks with her finger. As she looked at Maki, Maki looked away from her, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly in annoyance.

“Maki-chan!” Nico said. “What gives?”

“I want you to pay attention to me. We’re going on this date, right?” Maki asked, her voice oddly soft. She had never expected Maki to be so shy about something, and the more she looked at her like that, the worse Nico felt about ignoring her.

“Don’t worry, Maki-chan!” Nico said, grabbing one of Maki’s shoulders for leverage so she could more comfortably stand on her toes. “I just want this to be more comfortable for you.” She flashed her a smile she reserved for her time in the idol club, hoping that Maki would see the warmth in her eyes. Maybe she was bad about making clear what she wanted, but she swore that she meant this all for Maki. This was supposed to be their perfect first date; she shouldn’t be ruining it like this.

“Are you sure?” Maki asked, her voice soft, fragile.

“Of course!” Nico cooed, leaning in to peck her cheek. She was so soft and warm, and as Nico pulled away from Maki’s cheek, she watched as Maki blushed redder, her eyes growing dark with slight confusion.

“Ehh!” Maki asked, as if she got cooties, and Nico furrowed her brows.

“Hey! I don’t do that for just anyone!” Nico said.

“I don’t get you!” Maki said, turning her attention away from Nico so she could play with her hair again.

“Hey! You two wanna get a move on?”

Nico turned away from Maki, seeing Nozomi with her hands on her hips, even with one of her hands interlacing fingers with Eli’s. “Or do you two just wanna stay here and not have dinner?”

Nico sighed. Of all the people to ask her questions like this, it’d be Nozomi. “We were waiting on you to realize we wanted to get some food, Nozomi!”

Maki, meanwhile, took a more straightforward and polite approach. “Of course.”

* * *

Nico was impressed by how eloquent Maki was. Never in her life did she think that anyone could take Nozomi out of going to a yakiniku restaurant, but they had changed their course and found themselves, instead of sitting in front of a grill waiting for their food to be served, at a sushi bar. Perhaps it was Maki’s insistence on paying, even if the place was cheaper than where they were originally going to go, or maybe it was the way Nozomi was talking about eating beef tongues that grossed her out a bit. Whatever the case may have been, Nico knew that she would have to thank Maki at a later date for at least democratizing this double date slightly.

It didn’t hurt that this sushi place was a far cry from the sushi-go-rounds she was used to. They sat at a polished wood table with two long seats like a booth, with Nico sitting next to Nozomi and across from Maki. From her vantage point she could see the walls, a moderate and neutral tone covering them, making the contrast between Maki’s and Eli’s red and light blue dresses all the more eye-catching underneath the light from the small paper lantern-esque chandelier above their table. The only thing Nico could possibly complain about was having to ask Nozomi to move in the case she needed to go to the bathrooms, which were conveniently near their table.

Even their menus were large and laminated books, a far cry from the fast-food style menus she was used to from her sushi places of choice. It all screamed class, something that the heir to the Nishikino household must have had in spades. In her appreciation, she gave Maki a wide smile.

“This place is so pretty!”

“My parents talk about going here on their anniversary,” Maki said, “so I wanted to see if it was worth all the excitement.”

“I think it is,” Nozomi said. “I feel kinda silly asking to go to that yakiniku place. I didn’t expect you to have this as an idea!”

Nico turned to Nozomi, giving her a slight jostle with her elbow. “Maybe you should have included us when you planned this date out, huh?” She gave her a teasing smile, and Nozomi responded by wrapping her arm tightly around Nico and pulling her in for a friendly hug. Nico grabbed Nozomi’s bicep, trying to pull herself free, much to the amusement of both Maki and Eli.

“Hey! Stop that, Nozomi! Quit laughing, you two!”

Nozomi relieved Nico’s embrace and pulled herself away from her, but that wasn’t quite enough to stop the giggles between Eli and Maki. Eli was first to catch her breath, though, and she broke the ice. “How long have you two known each other?”

“Nicocchi and I have been friends since our first day of high school.” Nozomi cooed, turning her attention slightly towards Maki. “Sure, she can be a bit abrasive at first, but the more you get to know her, the more she becomes a sweetheart.”

“Nozomi, you’re scaring me,” Nico interrupted.

“Nicocchi, I’m trying to help you out!”

“It’s like telling Eli that you’re touchy, but I think she already knows that!” Eli’s giggles proved Nico right on that front, in the case their hugs before they came here weren’t any indication.

Nozomi crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Guilty as charged, Nicocchi.” She huffed, her smile giving away her teasing inclinations. After a few seconds, she rested her hands in her lap, returning her attention to Eli. “What about you two?” Nozomi asked. “How long have you two known each other?”

Maki looked towards the chandelier, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers in thought and humming. Meanwhile, Eli was quicker to find an answer, speaking on her behalf. “We met one day during dance club. They were looking for a rehearsal pianist and found Maki. She’s incredible.” From what Nico had seen, Maki was beyond incredible at the piano, and Maki flushing at the attention made clear just how correct she was.

“Hush, you,” Maki mumbled, a slight frown on her lips.

“Oh, right,” Eli said. “Maki isn’t really used to attention from a lot of people.” Eli said. “I’m honestly surprised she agreed to this double date!”

Nico and Maki both turned their gazes to Eli. Like it was their idea to make this into a double date. Nico wanted to give Eli a piece of her mind and say how this was originally supposed to be a single date before Nozomi opened her mouth and invited herself and Eli, but she couldn’t, not without Maki already giving her thoughts aloud.

“Eli!” It was the softest yell Nico ever heard, soft enough for it to be only audible to the three of them, Maki not included, but with that intensity which was enough to quiet Eli. Regardless of being quieted, Eli kept a small smile on the corners of her lips, one that did not put either Nico nor Maki at ease. Nico gazed at Maki, and Maki was looking at the closest corner of the table she could glance upon, her cheeks flushing a slight red. Nico’s gaze went between the three of them, wondering what she should even do to fill the silence.

Thankfully, they just needed a waitress, dressed in a black button-up shirt and slacks, to come to the table to ease things a bit.

“Welcome everyone,” The waitress said, a moderate smile on her face. “Does anyone know what they would like to drink?”

“I’m fine with water,” said Maki.

“Can I have some tea?” asked Nozomi.

“I’ll take a tea, too,” Eli added.

Nico hummed for a few seconds before answering. “I’ll take some water.”

“Two waters and two teas. Got it,” the waitress said, tilting forward slightly in a bow. “I’ll get those for you as soon as I can.”

“Thank you!”

With the waitress heading away from the table, Nico looked at the menu in front of her, trying to decide what would be best for her to get. Considering Maki considered this place to be a sushi bar, it might have been best just to get something like a sushi boat. Nico looked over her menu and towards Maki. “Have your parents taken you before, Maki-chan? What do you personally recommend?”

“Eh?” Maki asked as she heard Nico calling her to attention. She stood upright, pressing her back into the wood behind her. Her flustered expression was short-lived, however, when she heard Nico’s answer, her lips curling into a slightly nervous frown. “It’s really been awhile since I’ve been here. Mama and Papa used to take me here when I was young, but they don’t do it so often anymore. Last time I was here was when they celebrated me getting into UTX, and I forgot what we had. What are you all in the mood for?” Maki asked, her words implicative of sharing their food.

Nico looked up and down the menu, looking for something that she would like. She wasn’t used to these kinds of foods; it was the first meal she could think of in a long time that wasn’t made at home or behind a fast food counter. It would have been easy to find something that Nozomi liked, but what about Eli and Maki? Eli was particularly a difficult case, given how it was only the first day they knew about one another, but she was more concerned about Maki.

“Do they still have that tomato salad I’ve been wondering about?”

The what? Was she sure that she hadn’t gotten confused with a different restaurant? Nico immediately returned to her menu, looking through the appetizers, the salads, the bento boxes, the rolls they had on offer. She scanned the menu a few times, wondering where the tomato salad would even be. What even was a tomato salad? It was the first time she even thought about something like that, and whenever she wasn’t scanning the menu, she looked at Maki with a slightly bewildered expression.

Maki sighed. “I guess it’s a seasonal item. Oh well,” she shrugged. “Tomatoes are best during the summer, after all.”

“Shucks,” Nozomi said. “I think we can find something for ya, Maki-chan!”

“I’ll keep looking,” Maki said, raising her menu a bit higher so she could hide her gaze from Nozomi.

“What about you, Nozomi?” Nico asked, “what are you planning on getting?”

Nozomi tilted her head, looking through the menu. “I’m probably going to get a specialty roll and maybe something for myself. Maybe two specialty rolls. The firecracker looks pretty good.”

Nico disapproved of that one. It sounded too spicy for her taste. She’d be better off getting something a bit more mild, but what, exactly? The more she looked, the more she fell in love with the sweet roll, one with crab and mango. It seemed perfect for her, and thankfully it was mango season, so the fruit was fresh.

“I’m probably gonna get the sweet mango roll,” Nico said. It was a basic selection, but she just needed something to eat. She could showcase her thoughts about food a bit later, when she was alone with Maki. She’d eventually have to come over and enjoy some of her home cooking.

“I thought you’d go with the futo _maki_ ,” Nozomi cooed, bumping into Nico as if to explain her incredibly lame pun. Nico already reacted to it with an eye roll.

“I wasn’t the one who decided to come here,” Nico said, trying to defend herself from such a lame joke. “But, come to think of it,” she said as she looked at the ingredients of the vegetarian roll, “it does look pretty good. What do you think, Eli?”

Eli hummed to herself, and Maki looked over her shoulder. “Eli, we’re looking at dinners right now!”

“The chocolate cake looks so good, though!”

“We can get it after dinner, I promise!”

Nozomi giggled. She learned something about Eli. If it wasn’t her favorite food, then it was certainly the lengths she would go for her favorite food. “We can get cake later, Elicchi!”

Eli looked around the table for a few seconds before flipping a few pages in her menu with a defeated sigh. “Fine,” she mumbled. “Why can’t I just have chocolate cake for dinner?”

Nozomi smiled widely. “So cute…” she said to herself, just loudly enough for Nico to hear.

“I think I’ll go with the spicy tuna rolls,” Maki said.

“And I’ll go for the squid rolls,” Eli said. “Can we also get some gyoza?”

“Fine by me,” Nico said. “So we’re getting firecracker rolls, spicy tuna rolls, sweet crab rolls, squid rolls, and two gyoza. What else?”

“Can we get some chocolate cake afterwards?” Eli asked.

“If we have room for dessert,” Nico remarked, trying her best not to sound sarcastic or condescending, “we can get some cake. It does sound good, the more you talk about it, though,” Nico hummed to herself, thinking about a delicious mouthful of light, fluffy cake flavored with rich, decadent chocolate would be. It was so much for her to think about all at once, that she had almost got lost in the fantasy, and that was without looking at the menu.

“I think we should also get some salmon rolls,” Nozomi said, “for balance.”

“Balance?” Maki asked.

“We have all these different fish, and I think that salmon would work as something to tie them all together.”

Something fell into the pit of Nico’s stomach the more she looked around, a slightly nervous glance forming on her face. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a fan of salmon. It didn’t even have to do with the food at all. It was almost like there was a buzzing noise that filled the table, one that was only audible to Nico herself, and as Eli, Maki, and Nozomi shared conversation, laughs, and smiles, Nico couldn’t help but feel a bit weird, a bit nervous that something was off. Placing her menu down on the table, she looked at the edge of the seat, past Nozomi, and then towards the bathrooms. That would probably be the best place for her to get her composure.

“That sounds great,” Nico said as she lifted herself up from off the seat, scooting forward and trying her best to scoot past Nozomi. “Hey, Nozomi, can you move? I need to use the bathroom!”

“Why didn’t ya say so before?” Nozomi asked, scooting out of the way and letting Nico through. Not that long after, Nico put on her shoes and headed towards the bathroom with as quick a walking speed as was appropriate in a restaurant like this. It wasn’t that fast, but it was enough to get away from the buzzing noise in her head just a bit.

That didn’t mean it was completely gone when she entered the bathroom, walls adorned with pearly white that matched the color of the tiles that made up the ground. With mirrors that were only a few steps away and a row of sinks, Nico didn’t care about the toilet stalls that she saw framing her reflection. She looked at herself in the mirror hurriedly, wondering if everything was alright with her: were her ponytails equal and unmatted? Yes. Was her makeup good, with her blush pinking her cheeks the right way so they were the same color as her lips? Also yes. Was her dress cute as it hugged her body in pink? Of course it was.

Yet, if she looked alright, that wasn’t what felt so wrong. Of course it wasn’t her that was the problem--Nico Nii was the number-one idol in the world--it was something else that was even more awkward, something that she didn’t really wish to say out loud but something she could see in her gaze.

It was the date. It felt off. There was just something that Nico couldn’t put into words about the date, but something felt off about it. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to the high-classed establishment, or the idle hum of the speakers as they played some sort of traditional music for the sake of ambience. That was all stuff that she enjoyed.

It felt like she wasn’t doing enough. Nozomi and Eli were being good hosts and Maki decided on the restaurant. What did she do besides be the one who made this into a feasible double date and set the time frame for Nozomi to take into her own hands? Nothing. She sat there and didn’t even make any good small talk to fill the void. There wasn’t anything she could bring to the conversation that seemed interesting enough to talk about.

She wasn’t contributing at all. It felt like the date could have been going on without her, and it pissed her off a bit. It was _her_ date with Maki, and she was being so quiet about it. Nico put her hands underneath the faucet, where they were greeted with a stream of cool water. It was a slight reprieve but not enough to pull away from her thoughts. She was really hoping to make this date sweet for Maki. it was their first date and she was acting like this. What was she thinking?

What was she doing? Every second away from the group, every bit of solace she got from venting to herself via her gaze about how she should be doing the date better, and she was leaving Maki behind. Call it possessive, but what if it was a moment where Maki lost interest in her? It’d be an awful first date if it were to happen, and the thought plagued Nico’s mind. Just the thought of her joining Eli and Nozomi in some menage a trois while Nico was forced to sit there and watch. It was the worst thing she could think of, and she knew that Nozomi would never do that to her, but it still hurt her slightly.

It didn’t help her that Nozomi already had a date she seemed committed to.

Nico splashed the water from hand to hand, not wishing to ruin her makeup with a wake-up jolt of cold water to bring her back to reality and realize that this was not a mixer. It was a double date, one that was a sesqui-date the more Nico thought about the worst things that could happen to Maki. She’d be the only one to be able to stop them from happening, and with a huff, Nico pulled her hands away from the sink, the water stopping not long after.

She’d never let that happen. She was going to be Maki’s, but only after she dried off her hands. She needed to showcase some level of etiquette if she wanted to be with her, even if it wasted time from her rushing back towards the table. She took a deep breath as she approached the door, knowing that the worst was not going to happen. She wouldn’t let it happen. Only she could be with Maki.

“Sorry,” Nico said as she slipped out of the bathroom, her word just loud enough to reach the table to whom it was addressed.

Nozomi scooted out of her seat. “What are you sorry for?” She asked, cocking a brow. “You were using the bathroom! Nothing wrong with that!”

Nico scooted into her seat, her fingers drumming along the wooden grain of the table. There were no menus at their table anymore, with a tall glass of water in its place; water for Nico and Maki, and tea for Nozomi and Eli. Nico looked away as Nozomi scooted into her seat, resting her forearms against the wood. “Never mind,” Nico huffed, turning her attention away from Nozomi so she could look at Maki.

Maki was beautiful. She always was beautiful in her own unique way. From the way she looked at Nico gazing at her, to the way her gaze broke with hers, and looking away from her with a finger twiddling with her locks, to the way that Maki’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in exasperation as she wondered what she was even supposed to do about Nico staring at her, to the slight whine as she asked how she could help her.

“What are you doing!?”

“Just looking, Maki-chan.” She put emphasis on the honorific, her lips curling into a slight smile in the process, which only made Maki flush more. She could see Maki finding a loss of words, none of them able to help her out with her predicament. It was so cute how flustered she could make Maki.

“Oh,” Maki hummed, her temper cooling but the flush in her cheeks growing ever-redder. She curled her shoulders in slightly, trying to look a bit smaller. “Feel free to look, if you want.”

Nico’s smile grew more, taking in her flustered cuteness. Maki was definitely cute, just as cute as she was beautiful, even if there were no words that needed to be shared and they listened to the conversation Nozomi and Eli were having over the music. Nothing needed to be changed; it was all so perfect.

“Oh, yeah, Nicocchi,” Nozomi said.

Nico pulled her gaze away from Nozomi and her smile shrank a bit, raising an eyebrow at her friend. “What, Nozomi?”

“We got the food, and hopefully soon it’ll show up. The waitress said it’ll take about 15 minutes.”

“I hope it comes soon,” Nico said, pressing a hand against her gut. “I’m starving,” she said dramatically, pressing her shoulders into the chair and leaning her head against it as she mocked fainting, complete with her other hand resting its knuckles against her forehead.

Nozomi giggled, poking Nico’s side and bringing her back to attention. “I’m sure the food will be coming shortly, don’t you worry.”

“Thanks,” Nico said as she returned to what was quickly becoming her favorite pastime: looking at Maki in all her beauty, figuring out the perfect words to describe her radiance and elegance, figuring out the melodies that seemed to flow through her ande the fitting harmonies that soared and bubbled up when paired with her melodies. She could hear the music as she looked at Maki, the warmth she felt in her cheeks a feeling she knew and could hold in her heart as well as her pencil. Maki was undoubtedly a muse to her, one that had the voice of a siren and the looks of one to match.

She was everything Nico could have ever wanted, and she was a great person on top of that.

Even if time seemed to slow down and Nico could count moments watching Maki in lieu of seconds, the amount of time it took for her gaze to be interrupted by a small salad and a bowl of soup was not that long. She looked at the waitress with a smile, even if she interrupted something so precious, and gave her thanks before grabbing her chopsticks, a smirk forming on her lips.

Even if she loved Maki, food was equally fantastic. In a white bowl was a generous portion of miso soup, with slivers of green onions and blocks of tofu bobbing to the surface of the steaming, savory brown broth. The salad was equally beautiful, chopped lettuce and shreds of carrots and cabbage all adorned with a smattering of an orange dressing. As the scent of food hit her nose, Nico clapped her hands, preparing herself for how the food was going to taste.

“Let’s eat!” Nico led the call before digging her chopsticks into the lettuce, taking chunks of leaves and slipping them into her mouth. They were delightfully crunchy, in direct contrast to the sweet and savory flavor of the dressing as it coated her tongue. One bite became two, and two became many more as she feverishly took bite after bite of the salad into her mouth, humming in delight with every bite she took.

After she was about halfway through the plate, she put her chopsticks down, the smile on her lips wide. “So good!” She cried out, watching as the others dug their spoons into the soup, fishing out blocks of tofu before slurping the spoonfuls down.

Maki pulled her lips away from her spoon. “This is really good. It’s about as good as the soup I have at home.”

Nico leaned into the table, a smile on her face even as she bumped the table and some of the soup left her bowl. “Do you cook at home?” Nico asked, wondering if she’d be willing to do some of the cooking. Not that Nico knew how to cook, but…

Maki looked at Nico like she had burned her, her gaze growing dark and nervous. “My private chef does…”

Even if it were something that Maki was ashamed to say, it impressed Nico so much. Just the notion that Maki had someone feeding her on a daily basis was impressive to Nico. In her family, she had taken up the role; even if Nico wanted to be cute and have Maki share in cooking, it seemed like something that she just couldn’t bring herself to say.

“Same here!” Nico said. “My private chef makes a soup just as goo--”

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi said, interrupting her.

Nico glared at Nozomi like she just killed a small animal. She was not going to interrupt her gloating and showboating about how rich she was if it was going to ruin how attractive she looked in Maki’s eyes. If words could kill, she knew that she’d be able to slaughter Nozomi. It was unbelievable that she’d even try to tell Maki the truth about her. She could learn that the private chef that Nico was talking about was _herself_ , and that she only did it because her mom needed the help when the siblings were born.? She wasn’t going to give that part of her life away so quickly, not like some expository info-dump.

Nozomi nodded, understanding. “Your _private chef_ is incredible.”

“I know. She’s one of the best chefs in Japan.” Damn, if only she could take credit as being the private chef. Her comment was met with Nozomi gently jostling her with her elbow.

The only reason why a fight didn’t start right there, outside of Maki watching, was the waitress was over Nozomi’s other shoulder, with a few plates with rolls on them, along with some square-shaped plates and wells for soy sauce to be poured into. As well, as per Eli’s request, there were a few plates of gyoza dumplings, the sight of which perked Eli up quite a bit.

“Here’s your food,” the waitress said as she handed the plates and wells to Nozomi, who distributed them among everyone while their rolls and dumplings were placed in the center of the table. “Enjoy!”

Nico enjoyed it without even needing to taste it. Seeing how the rolls were arranged in straight lines that all ran from one seat of the table to the other, and how the plates of gyoza flanked the plates of rolls (and Eli already grabbing a few dumplings from her end) was a spectacle that Nico had to behold for a few moments. Part of her wanted to grab her phone and take a picture, show off what she was eating, but the image would have been ruined by asymmetry. It would be an imperfect picture, one fitting an imperfect first date.

Thus, Nico clapped her hands once more and chanted an itadakimasu before grabbing every roll she could, only avoiding the ones glazed in an orange-pink sauce, ones that Nozomi were quick to point out were the firecrackers the moment Nico tried to grab one. She piled her plate high with everything else, making sure that everyone else had a decent amount of food on theirs as well, before she started feasting on her food.

Conversation died down bar the occasional glimpses that one gave one another, but most of the focus was on the food. It had been well-worth the wait, Nico summarized, as she dug her teeth into a gyoza, wondering if they were as good as Eli’s moans truly made them out to be. They certainly were, with a deliciously earthy and meaty flavor that was pure umami in every bite. Even if the conversation wasn’t worthy of a first date, the food certainly was, and before she knew it, she was on the rolls, which were of equally-high quality.

“This is amazing!” Eli said.

“These firecracker rolls are really something else!” Nozomi said. “Thanks for showing us this place, Maki-chan!”

“Eh?” Maki said, teeth sunk into a dumpling. She looked away from Nozomi with a slightly flustered expression, eating slightly slower than she had been eating.

The rest of the meal was mainly silent, except for appreciative hums and moans of delight whenever anyone tried a new roll or had their first dumpling. The food was worth savoring, every bite as juicy as delicious as the one before it. There was not a single moment where the food felt like it was getting old. Piece by piece, the rolls were placed onto various plates, and before anyone knew it, they were all full, with only one or two pieces of each roll were left on their serving plates.

Nico let out a huff as she put her chopsticks down, a wide smile on her face. Part of her wanted to kick her feet up onto the table and just savor the fullness she felt, but didn’t want to be disrespectful. She didn’t want to have any part in ruining this date. “That was delicious!”

“I’m glad ya think so, Nicocchi! You’re always so strict about food except when it’s fast!”

“Look, Nozomi, sometimes an idol such as myself needs a break from something as amazing as my home cooking!”

Maki squinted at Nico. “I thought you said you had a private chef.”

Nico’s eyes widened, and she flushed, her warmth exacerbated as she heard Nozomi and Eli’s giggling in the background. “My private chef’s home cooking, Maki-chan,” she retorted, flashing her a wink as if she were Nozomi and telling her to change the subject.

Maki just blinked at her. If only there were a way to change the conversation and turn it around. Thankfully, Eli was there, ready to bring up their prior conversation.

“So, Nico,” she said, “you said that you want to be an idol?”

Nico smirked. “I already am one! I’m the number-one school idol in the world, Nico-Nii!”

Maki fidgeted with a lock of her hair. “So, like Tsubasa?”

“Exactly!” Nico said, getting a groan out of Maki. “Hey! It’s why I sang you that song when we met! I was just so inspired that I had to write something for you!”

Maki flushed brightly, hiding her lips with her hands, but her wide eyes showed a slightly shocked happiness. Eli cooing did not help.

“You write songs as well as perform them?” Eli asked. “That’s impressive. Have you considered performing at the Love Live?”

Nico sighed. “Otonokizaka lacks the budget, and I’m sure they don’t want someone who’s a solo act performing there. I’ve always seen it as something more group-oriented.”

Eli tilted her head slightly. “Well, maybe I can get you in touch with Tsubasa. Her group’s been a fixture--”

“I know,” Nico replied. “A-Rise is one of the hottest idol groups around! And for good reason. Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju are all idols for idols! They’re idol legends among even the most legendary of idols, and they’re all still in high school! It’s insane,” Nico said, putting her elbows on the table and supporting her head in her hands. “I’d be honored to meet them, Eli. I really would. It would mean the world to me.” She hoped that her smile would be infectious enough for Eli to follow through on her offer eventually.

Eli nodded. “Next time I see Tsubasa, I’ll talk to her about it. She was saying that she was thinking of becoming a manager after her idol career, so maybe she’ll put you under her wing.”

Nico’s eyes grew teary in delight. She didn’t think she’d ever have the opportunity to be near _the_ Kira Tsubasa, let alone someone whom she was being mentored by. Just the notion of being her student enticed her. It was everything she ever wanted in life. If she were able to hold onto Maki and become Tsubasa’s student, perhaps one who would eventually overtake her master in terms of performance, she’d be fulfilled. She would truly be the number-one idol in the world.

“I would appreciate that so much, Eli! You don’t even know!”

“I’ll make sure to talk to her about it,” Eli said, giving her a smile before darting her gaze to Maki. “I’m sure your girlfriend dabbles in composition, too,” Eli teased, eliciting Maki to hide her face even more in her hands, trying to disappear.

Yet, as Nico looked at her, Maki would sometimes peek an eye through the space between her fingers, as if silently telling her that she would indeed help her out in those regards if she were to ask. Nico smiled. She’d probably be asking sometime soon, especially if it meant she could stay over and get to know her even better. That was a beauty she loved about idols and all other musicians: she could tell so much about someone based on the songs they sang and the music they played. Even if there was some acting involved, she knew music came from the heart.

After all, the best singers were those who sounded like they were singing _to_ their audience, _about_ their audience, making the audience the center of their world that, for the duration of a live or recital or whatever people liked to call it, they truly were. After all, they were the people who made sure that she was truly an idol, those undoubtedly deserving of listening to her music.

Being able to see the interior of Maki’s room, however, certainly didn’t help. She couldn’t help but wonder the kinds of things her room had, like a bed with a canopy, or perhaps a few candles that smelled of cinnamon filling the room with its scent, a scent that was undoubtedly Maki in her eyes. Sweet and somewhat spicy, but not in a bad and overbearing way that made Nico disgusted. Mainly sweet, like a cinnamon roll, but not as soft as one. She’d figure out the metaphor eventually, and when she did, she’d have some song about cinnamon on her desk ready to have a melody and harmony attached to it.

It’d be amazing if the cinnamon girl herself made the song to her lyrics of her ode to the spice.

Nico was able to seclude herself in her fantasies for a few more minutes before the waitress came back with cups of water. Through everything, Nico hadn’t even realized how much she drank until she saw the full glass in front of her, contrasted with how empty the one she sipped from was. Giving the waitress her thanks, she slipped her straw into the full glass and took a pull. It was so refreshing against her tongue.

“Do you want anything else?” The waitress asked.

“Can we have four slices of the chocolate cake?” Eli asked.

“I’ll get that for you. Will that be all?”

Eli nodded, and as the waitress turned away, she looked at Maki with a look telling her that she’d be in charge of paying since she got the cakes without her permission. Maki shook her head; it was all good. They just needed to wait a bit more before the cakes arrived.

And for Nico, that meant more fantasizing. She could do it all day, think of scenarios in her head of the kinds of romances that would be found in shoujo manga: anguished declarations of romance at senior graduations and small kisses on swing sets during the winter or even the welcome-back kiss of two lovers going to the same college meeting up after a break while a storm of cherry blossom leaves encapsulated them. All pretty and picturesque, all worthy of Maki.

And given the size of the slices of cake that were brought to Nico’s attention as they were put on the plate, they were worthy of Maki, too.

“Thank you!” Eli said, her excitement visible in her voice as she grabbed onto the spoon on top the cake and sunk it into the cake, pulling out a good amount of chocolate-brown, spongey goodness. The moment it hit Eli’s lips, her eyes widened; she had gone to heaven, if the moan leaking from her lips were any consideration. Nozomi looked at Eli with a soft smile; this was definitely going to be a future birthday present from now on.

As Nico scraped a chocolate frosting flower off the top of her piece and dug into the cake, she saw exactly what Eli was talking about. It was rich, decadent, sweet, everything that she could have ever requested from a chocolate cake and then some. It reminded her of Maki in its elegance and richness, a sight for her taste buds like the redheaded goddess in front of her.

It was all but too perfect to indulge in, and before she knew it, she had reached the end of her cake, every bite as enjoyable as the last, which impressed her given its size. Soon enough, Eli finished, and Nozomi was not far behind. Maki, however, kept her plate untouched, requesting a box from the waitress when she came around.

Not long after, the waitress came with the bill and the box for not only the slice of cake, but also the rolls. Nozomi took the box with the rolls, and Maki put her cake in her box before giving the waitress her credit card.

Not long after, Maki got her card back, and it was time for them to leave the restaurant.

* * *

It was like they didn’t go anywhere at all.

That was a bit of an overstatement, given how the square right in front of the train station was lit up by street lights instead of the sun, but outside of that, and the people who stood in front of it, it felt like Nico hadn’t gone anywhere during the date. It felt too magical to call it going anywhere.

It made the fact that she lived so far away, far enough away that she didn’t need to take the train to get home, all the more disappointing. At least Nozomi lived close enough for her to justify going home with Eli. She really wished she had that luxury when it came to walking Maki home, but she simply couldn’t.

“Make sure you call me when you get home,” Nico said to the group, but to Maki in particular. She gave a slight smile to them, and a nod. She felt warm, and part of it was the lights shining on them, and the heat of the station so close to her, but it was also from Maki being near.

“We will!” Nozomi said, taking Eli by the hand and trailing away from them. “Bye, Maki-chan! Bye, Nicocchi!”

“Bye!” Nico waved them off, looking at them for only a few moments before she focused herself on Maki once more, who twirled her hair with her finger. It was like her tic; and whenever she did it, she looked so cute. Well, she looked cuter than she did normally, which was an incredibly high bar, but still.

“Did you enjoy our date?”

Maki’s words were soft, heavy with care, and the slightly awkward expression on her face showed the difficulty in expressing herself, something that warmed Nico’s heart slightly. She gave her a wide smile, nodding her head to tell her that she loved it. Even if there were flaws with it, they were mainly because of Nozomi and Eli. They were just too talkative and wanted to make it into a more awkward double date.

Maki dug her toes into the pavement, sliding them around shyly. “I enjoyed myself a lot. Even if we didn’t talk much, I…” Maki’s words faded out, as if she lost the air or the nerve to continue what she wanted to say, but her shyness, the redness of her cheeks; it all spoke volumes on how she felt. “Thank you, Nico-chan,” she said, the last words she understood before Nico stepped forward.

Maki was incredibly warm in her arms, and Maki’s arms were incredibly warm around her. She gave her a slight squeeze, letting her savor her warmth, the comfort of her warm, almost scratchy coat. The warmth of the faux mink was especially something that Nico loved against her cheek, and she nuzzled into her, her smile growing wider by the moment.

She looked up and saw Maki trying to give a smile back. She was shy, but that was something that Nico had realized. Pulling away, Nico gave her a warm and wide smile.

She loved the moments where she lingered in Maki’s grasp when she pulled away, almost like she didn’t want to let go.

“I guess I have to get going,” Nico said, now it being her turn to look down at the ground nervously. “I hope we get to do something like this again.”

Maki looked towards the same spot Nico did, a point between them and to her right as she took a few steps backward. “Same here,” Maki said.

Nico smiled widely, looking up at Maki. “Maybe it could be something we do alone next time.” She looked towards the station and the clock that was above the doors. She needed to rush if she wanted a chance of being on her train on time. “Anyway, I need to go! Bye, Maki-chan!”

There was a lingering silence between the two of them before Maki replied, stepping back and preparing herself for her departure. “Bye, Nico-chan.”

Nico turned around and ran. She needed to run to make it to her train. The subway wasn’t going to stop for her, and it depressed her that it wouldn’t. She wished it could, if only for her to see Maki again.

* * *

Nico was on the train when she got Maki’s message saying she was home.

* * *

Maki was probably asleep when Nico returned home and sent a message. She hoped to hear back soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh, part of me wanted to do yakiniku, but I decided on sushi because of two reasons.
> 
> 1\. I've been to a sushi bar.  
> 2\. Roll = Maki
> 
> Anyway, I'm glad y'all have come this far! I'm not sure how long the rest of the chapters are gonna be, but I know that most of them will be a bit more spread out in the timeline from this point forward.


	4. I Want to Be an Idol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico talks with Tsubasa, an idol-turned-manager, about becoming an idol.

“Mama?”

“Yes, Nico?”

“Is it okay if I don’t go to my graduation ceremony?”

“Why don’t you want to go to your graduation?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, Mama. I promise. I know that you and my siblings were really looking forward to seeing me graduate, but something’s come up.”

“What could be more important than your graduation?”

“I have a meeting with someone connected to the idol industry.”

“Couldn’t they have scheduled it on a day that isn’t your graduation?”

“I asked, and she couldn’t. She promised that if I talked with her, I could get a song out by the end of Summer! Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“I mean, it would be amazing. You’d be on your way to becoming the #1 idol in the world like what your father would have wanted, right?”

“That’s right! Papa will be able to see me from above! I really want to make him proud of me!”

“I’m sure he’s proud of you already, Nico.”

“But I want him to be even _more_ proud of me, Mama! I want to dedicate a song to him to thank him for all he’s done!”

“He would have loved something like that, Nico.”

“So can I skip graduation to go to this meeting? I promise we can celebrate over dinner at a later time!”

“I guess so. Make sure you get your diploma, though.”

“I will, Mama!”

* * *

“You’re not going to be graduating with me?”

Nozomi pouted slightly as she grabbed her burger, distracting herself from the news with a large bite, just enough for her lips to graze the burger’s wrapper.

Nico idly drew around the perimeter of her tray with a french fry, trying her best to hide her concern. She knew that Nozomi wasn’t going to be a fan of the news, but seeing her gazing at her, her expression almost depressed with how disappointed she was, hurt her in a way that was truly beyond words. As long as she could look at her fry as its tip entered a puddle of ketchup, she could just ignore her words.

“Nozomi,” she huffed, knowing she couldn’t let herself procrastinate on her message forever. “I don’t do this because I don’t want to graduate with you. I really do. It’s just that I have something else going on that day, something more important.”

Nozomi looked at her with a raised eyebrow, swallowing her bite of burger. “What could possibly be more important than graduating high school?”

“I have some great news, Nozomi. I’m surprised that Eli didn’t tell you about this, really, but you know A-Rise?”

Nozomi tilted her head. “You mean that idol group you’ve been talking to me about when you were a part of your club? The one you said you wanted to be like?”

Nico nodded excitedly. “That’s the one, Nozomi! Eli said that she’d get in touch with the center, Kira Tsubasa, and she said that the day of our graduation, she’d like to see me at UTX! Isn’t that amazing, Nozomi?”

Nozomi nodded, the disappointment not quite leaving her expression, but the depression became much more positive. “Well, at least you’re leaving for good reason,” she huffed, taking another bite of her burger, her latest bite smaller than the ones previous.

“Of course I am!” Nico said, her eyebrows furrowing. She slammed her fist into the table, watching as her fries bounced out of their box. Widening her eyes at what she had done, she brought her hand away, hoping her excitement wasn’t too much. “I really wanted to graduate with you, Nozomi. I really did. I wanted to do that thing where we matched our hairstyles, but I’m sorry. Kira said that it was the one time she had the room available, and I can’t disrespect her like that.”

Nico swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. Nozomi kept her expression locked on her, growing slightly more judgmental. She looked down, looked around, things she didn’t ever expect Nozomi to do. Usually, she seemed so poised and confident, and now she was at almost a loss for words. Nico reached for her fries to distract herself, and grabbed a few, dipping them in ketchup, ready to take a big bite.

Then, Nozomi took a deep breath.

“Nicocchi,” she said, “as much as I respect you for being passionate about what you love, please don’t get lost in your own desires.” 

Ketchup dribbled onto her tray. Nico tilted her head, a confused expression forming on her face. Her words sounded so cold, so polite, devoid of the accent that she knew Nozomi had. It was almost like Nozomi was an entirely different person when she said those lines, not her friend, but someone else entirely. Yet, the words made Nico’s fingers feel so cold. Her fries came close to falling out of her hand, but she grabbed onto them tight, bringing them to her mouth to distract her from what had just happened.

Never before had she seen Nozomi so pissed at her. She wasn’t going to say it out loud, but it was clear she was.

“Nicocchi,” she said again, filling the silence. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Relax, Nozomi,” Nico remarked. “I’ll make sure to keep in touch with you. You have my number, so if you want to talk about anything, we can still talk.”

As much as it seemed like something that wouldn’t have affected Nozomi, it did relieve Nico that her frown became a smile, a slight contentedness on her face despite the still-judgmental glare she gave. It was comforting in a way. It was much more comforting than what it was before.

“And don’t worry, Nozomi. I won’t get lost in my desires. You can count on me for that.”

* * *

It was hard to believe that it was a room in a school, but yet again, Nico never really thought of UTX as a school and more as a luxury, a status, something she wished she could be.

The view from the UTX idol club room--not even the idol research club--was simply extravagant. It was clear from the lack of mirrors and the large window that made up one of the walls that this wasn’t their place of practice, nor did the large table with the long red velvet-esque couches in the middle of it. Atop the table, in the middle of it, was a laptop, playing Private Wars--a school idol anthem of sorts that shook the world when it came out.

Facing the laptop was Tsubasa Kira, the center. Her brown hair, her radiant green eyes, her large forehead: it was really her. It was so surreal seeing her in the flesh the first time Nico saw her at a live show, and it was even more surreal to see her sitting there, expecting her. Nico could feel her heart pounding with every step she took, the music fading as her attention focused on every smack of her shoes against the floor. She could feel Tsubasa’s gaze prying at her, observing the slight sway in each step she took as she approached the seat and sat down upon it, placing her bag by her side. She only pulled her attention away to quiet down her video until it was muted; not long afterwards, she closed the laptop.

An awkward silence filled the space between them, one that made Nico wish that Maki were around to help her. She knew Tsubasa, right? Someone had to, and not in the way that Nico knew her. Everyone in Japan her age knew Tsubasa like that, watching on screens and live shows and keeping track of Love Live and all it entailed. It wasn’t every day, though, that someone got to sit across from her. It felt almost like an interview.

“You’re Yazawa Nico?” Tsubasa asked, filling the air with much-needed noise.

“That’s me! I’m the super-idol Nico Nico Nii!” She said, flashing Tsubasa that ever-familiar hand sign, her hands almost imitating bunny ears. Nico looked at her, noticing not a single change in her expression. It was the one thing she hoped to do, but Tsubasa seemed completely unchanged.

She nodded, enough for her to show she understood, and no more. “I’m Kira Tsubasa,” she said, reaching into a bag that was besides her and pulling a small piece of cardstock out. Sliding it across the table, Nico realized it was a business card, white letters against a moderately mauve color. Kira Tsubasa: Idol Manager. Manager? Nico studied the card again and again, making sure that the second part was not a fluke.

“You want to be a manager?” Nico asked, “but what about A-Rise?”

“A-Rise was me seeing how I felt about being an idol. It’s fun, but it’s really not something I see myself doing for the rest of my life. I’ve always had more fun working on all the parts that make the show work, and Erena-san and Anju-san have always told me that they want me to be on-stage with them.”

A small silence filled the air, giving Nico time to process what Tsubasa had told her. It seemed so unexpected of her to say something like that. Tsubasa was the best idol she had ever seen, school idol or otherwise. Why she wanted to give something like that up was a complete mystery to her, and even as she explained herself Nico was just as confused about it all. She truly wished she could understand, but Tsubasa continued.

“I sang and danced for them because they’re my friends, and I wanted to see them happy.” The bluntness of her words made clear how she felt, and once more Nico studied her business card. It was basic, minimalistic to a fault, similar to the way Tsubasa’s outfit fit her. White and almost overly-plain, the only splashes of color were her tie and the stripes around her cuffs. Nico grabbed the card and brought it to her face, tilting it to see if there was anything else that she was missing; there was no way that something as special from someone as special could be so plain.

Yet, with every tilt, nothing happened. It was a plain business card. The top-right corner stayed white, and Tsubasa’s name stayed as those cute, bubbly letters. Not even her signature glistened in the changing light. It was still her name, occupation, and a few contacts beneath it. Nico gently put it down, almost beholden to Tsubasa’s humility. If she were to have a business card, no expenses would have been spared.

The whole scene seemed so disbelieving; there was just something so wrong about it that Nico couldn’t put her finger on. She couldn’t bring herself to bring it up; there was a gleam in Tsubasa’s eye and a relaxed roundness in her cheeks that made clear that she had thought out this decision clearly.

“Why do you wanna quit?” Nico asked, making sure the business card was flat against the table before she banged her fists against the table, the card bouncing slightly. “You’re one of the best idols I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot coming from me!”

Tsubasa blinked, her relaxed smile unwavering. “It’s not something that I wish to make into my livelihood. How big is the idol club at Otonokizaka?”

Nico shrunk in her seat. Her gaze became wide and she returned her attention to Tsubasa’s business card, memorizing her phone number. “One person,” Nico huffed. “Nobody else wanted to keep up with me.”

Tsubasa slowly nodded. “That would explain why I didn’t see you at Love Live.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“I’m not trying to insult,” Tsubasa insisted, pressing her clasped hands onto the desk. “It was genuinely curious. Considering your school’s budget and having a solitary idol club member, it makes sense that you didn’t go. It’s a shame, really,” she huffed. “I could see you being some tough competition if you figured out your strengths.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nico asked.

“There’s a lot more to being an idol than singing and dancing,” Tsubasa said.

“Yeah, I know. It’s about the image, the poise, the interviews, the character, the way the audience feels when you sing, the glory,”

“The love of being an idol.”

“Are you implying something here, Kira?”

“Call me Tsubasa.”

Nico breathed in, trying again. “Are you implying something here, Tsubasa?”

Slowly, Tsubasa shook her head. “I’m not. If anything, I’m just surprised it wasn’t the first thing you said. Your love for idols certainly radiates from you, and it’s truly respectful to see.”

That was enough for Nico to smile. Her fingers drummed against the table, a slightly nervous habit, as a moment of silence filled the air between them. “Thank you!” Nico said. “I want to be the #1 idol in the world!”

“It’ll take a lot of time, dedication, and effort,” Tsubasa said, “and you’re a bit behind considering you haven’t participated at a Love Live. Anju-san and Erena-san are planning on becoming professionals and the goodwill from A-Rise will be invaluable in their endeavors.”

“I can do that!” Nico said, standing up, not caring if the table banged her shins. After the initial rush of pain, Nico sat back down, bringing her hands to where she had hurt herself. The pain surged throughout, aching, almost too difficult for her to put into words, but she didn’t scream. Not in front of Tsubasa could she scream.

“Are you okay?” Tsubasa asked.

“I’m fine! Nothing a bit of pain can’t help with. You know. No pain, no gain, right?”

Tsubasa smiled. “I guess. Anyway,” she said, her gaze narrowing slightly, becoming more piercing. “Eli told me about you. She said that you were interested in becoming an idol.”

“You bet I am!” Nico remarked, her smile growing a bit more cocky. “I thought I already made that clear!”

Tsubasa pushed her back into her chair, that smile still on her face. “I wanted to put more focus on that, instead of drawing attention to me being a manager. Although, I’m sure that Eli wouldn’t have invited you to see me if I still wanted to be an idol. I’d probably be practicing in the practice room.”

“You have a dedicated practice room?” Nico asked, her eyebrows lifted in shock. “I just use the school’s roof!”

“I’d show you what the practice room looks like,” Tsubasa said, “but I’ve been denied access ever since I’ve graduated. I had to talk with a teacher in advance to make sure I could set this place up for a meeting.”

“You already graduated?” Nico asked.

“UTX had their graduation ceremony a week ago.”

“Oh yeah, right,” Nico said. “I remember Nozomi saying something about going to Eli’s graduation. I couldn’t go, sadly.” Realizing she was deviating from why she wanted to talk to Tsubasa again, she took a deep breath. “Anyway, about the idol management thing you’re doing. What’s up with that?”

“Oh, right,” Tsubasa said, bringing her attention back to the business card on the desk. Even if their conversation meandered, it was the reason why Nico was there. She returned her gaze to Nico, her smile growing. “I was able to get an internship with a management company throughout the summer.”

“Already?” Nico asked. “You’re not even in college!”

Tsubasa blinked. “I met this manager at Love Live. He took an interest in A-Rise after our performance, and while Erena-san and Anju-san were both excited to fly under his wing, I wanted to know more about the company he works for, and he says that he’s fine with showing me the ropes.”

Nico nodded as she listened along; it was a proposition that made sense, especially given A-Rise being able to meet its seeding and be the top-ranked Love Live idol group since its inception.

Tsubasa continued. “Part of what I wanted to talk to him about was seeing if I could scout out a few people who would be interested in being idols, and when Eli told me about you, I thought that you could be a perfect fit for that.”

Nico’s eyes lit up. Of course she was the perfect fit for that. All the things that an idol could possibly be asked to do, Nico could do better than anyone she knew. She could quite possibly write a song about how perfectly cute and amazing she was as an idol; she needed an image song, come to think of it. She pushed herself out from the chair, banging her legs against the table again; once more, it took a few moments for her to regain her composure and not scream right in front of Tsubasa.

“T-t-t-that sounds amazing!” Nico said. “Where do I sign up?”

“First off, are you okay, Nico-san?”

“I’m fine!” Nico said as she sat down and ran her fingers along her legs, feeling the indents and wincing at the pain that radiated on contact. Looking down at her shins, she could see the bruises already starting to form. “I might need a week or two to recover, though. Nobody should see Nico with bruises like this. My skin’s my charm point!”

Tsubasa looked up and down Nico, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. Nico’s gaze narrowed, unamused at Tsubasa, supposedly holding back laughter at her charm point. “I’m being serious here!”

“I’m not. I’m just surprised it’ll take two weeks for those bruises to heal.” Tsubasa said. “I can’t laugh at an idol’s charm point. It’s not like, say, you’re saying your height’s what you want to bring attention to.”

Nico stood up. Tsubasa stood up as well. Tsubasa was not as short as Nico was, but Nico swore that Tsubasa was at least _quite_ a bit taller than her. Whenever she was on stage, it always seemed like she was taller than everyone except for Erena and Anju. Before now, she thought that Tsubasa could have been as tall as Eli.

It was almost off putting to learn that they were almost the same height.

“I understand, Nico-san. Not all of us get to be tall.”

Speechless at this new understanding of Tsubasa, she sat down, her fingers drumming against the table. Even if she had justified her joke as self-deprecating, it still annoyed Nico; it still felt like she had just been insulted by her new manager-to-be. It didn’t make the slightly resigned smile on Tsubasa’s face change, though. Tsubasa sat down, pressing her palms against the table.

“You know, Nico, the true mark of an idol is to make her weaknesses her strengths. You might not be the tallest or, uh, most mature,” Tsubasa said, Nico’s glare growing more pointed and angry as she pointed out her body shape. Not everyone could be long-legged. “But that doesn’t mean that your audience can’t love a cute idol!”

“Of course!” Nico said, trying to hold a smile on her face. “Everyone knows that I’ll be the cutest idol in the world! That’s me!”

Another silence filled the air between them, leaving Nico to revel in the discomfort of the space between them. It felt like a job interview in every way but familiarity. There was just something about it that felt so weird. It was like Tsubasa wasn’t looking at her as much as she was peering at her, trying to figure out her family life and all the minutiae that came with it. It was almost like their meandering conversation wasn’t even what she was paying attention to; not that Nico minded the conversation being forgotten about. It just felt awkward sitting there, and the silence between them made it all the more evident.

Nico looked at the business card for a few seconds, taking in its plain look, before looking at Tsubasa. What else was there to do when she was silent and looking at the table? She should have brought a resume, a song to sing, _something_ to show that she was serious about this. All she had to go off on was a thumb drive containing a few things that she really didn’t feel like showing, stuff from her early days as an idol in high school when she actually had members of an idol club.

She really wished Otonokizaka cared about her time as a solo idol.

Tsubasa finally finished looking at the table and turned her attention to Nico. “Do you have a portfolio on you?”

Nico swallowed. It didn’t matter anymore. She reached down to slip a hand in her bag to grab the thumb drive she was so worried about showing, and she placed it on the table, sliding it in Tsubasa’s direction. “It’s only stuff from my first year,” Nico said. “Everyone left the idol club my second year and Otonokizaka cut funding for the club not long after, so I only have promotional material from way back when.” She said.

Tsubasa nodded. “That’s fine. As long as this is of quality, I’m sure I could tell my coworkers that you have potential as an idol.” She smiled as she reached forward and grabbed the thumb drive from her hands and put it in her laptop. She opened her laptop up, and not that much later, Nico could hear the promotional video she had on it; her solo interview.

“Nico Nico Nii! Your heart belongs to Nico Nico Nii~ I’m the number one idol in the universe, Nico Nico!”

As strong as it sounded, Nico could already hear a bit of a flaw in her cadence, the flaws in her words and the slight desire to rush through the motions too evident. She nervously smiled, looking at Tsubasa with the intent of seeing whether or not her facial expression changed the more she watched it. Her gaze never left the screen, keeping the intensity that it had when she started watching it, going through a bunch of questions that Nico couldn’t even remember being asked about.

It would have been nostalgic if it weren’t so embarrassing to listen to. 

The only part she liked about it was her drive to be an idol, but as much as she wanted to point out all the flaws, all the moments where she almost broke character and how clear it was in her voice, the absolutely embarrassing answer to the question about her favorite sweet being the joy she shares to her fans, Tsubasa kept watching. She kept watching with a non-judgmental gaze. It was honestly impressive how she was able to keep watching that without feeling disgusted; just _listening_ to it was enough to make Nico want to wretch.

Once the video was finally over, and the laptop rang out a loud “Bye bye,” Nico breathed a sigh of relief as Tsubasa closed her laptop. It was finally over. A top idol like Tsubasa had just watched her first promotional video. She wanted to leave. She wanted to write a will and dedicate everything to Maki before she died. She wanted something--anything--but the silence to consume them again, leaving Nico to wonder what was going on in Tsubasa’s head.

Nico saw a slight yearning in Tsubasa’s gaze, like she was remembering something with fondness. A warmth radiated from her, one that Nico almost wanted to ask about, but before she could, Tsubasa blinked and stood up, her gaze once more becoming serious.

“I remember when I had my first promotional video. You made it seem so easy.” Tsubasa said. “I almost wish that Otonokizaka had the budget to let you go to Love Live. I think you could have been some serious competition.”

“You really think so?”

Tsubasa nodded. “I see a lot of potential from you, Nico. I’m not saying this because I’m a friend of your best friend’s girlfriend. I’m saying this because I can definitely see you becoming a big idol someday.”

Tsubasa reached down, probably into her bag, and pulled out a sheet of paper. Placing it on the desk, Nico gave it a quick look. On the page was a picture of a stage, the center of which was lit up by a spotlight. In that spotlight was the following text:

**Idol Audition**

**1/5**

**13:00 at the UTX Auditorium**

Nico grabbed the paper and slid it to her end of the table, resting it alongside Tsubasa’s business card. May was only a few weeks away, and she didn’t even have a song or anything like that! The thought scared Nico a bit, knowing that there probably were a few karaoke songs that she could do in the case she didn’t have anything original prepared. She didn’t know whether she could call it panic, or if she could just use that song she sang for Maki.

Thankfully, Tsubasa was there to elucidate. “You don’t need to sing and dance an original song and dance, although with the rise of Love Live and its rules, I believe you’d stand above the rest if you were to make an original song.”

Nico tensed up. “What kind of song should it be?”

“It can be any song you want, as long as it’s something you think would sell on a single. I believe the winner of this contest will get their song recorded, which could kick-start an idol career if you’re lucky.”

Nico’s tension was relieved immediately, and she fell back into her seat. She already had her song in mind. As weird as it felt thinking that she could start a career with the song she originally sang for Maki, it was perhaps her best course of action. She’d be able to express her love for her, and she could have ended up making it into a standard idol song along many a karaoke circuit. It’d be the unity of the two things that she loved in high school, the way she should have lived her life.

It was everything that Nico could have possibly wanted, and she didn’t even need to work on another song. The song she sang-- _Aishiteru Banzai_ , it had been titled in her notebook--would do perfectly.

“It’s a good thing I have a song that I’ve been thinking of doing. It’s something a bit softer. Do you know Nishikino Maki-chan, Tsubasa?”

Tsubasa nodded, smiling. “I know her. She sometimes comes in to help out with compositions. Why do you ask?”

“Well, as it turns out, I wrote a love song for her, and I’m thinking of using it for the audition. It’s soft, so the audience can get to see Nico’s soft side. Every good idol has a sensitive side, you know?”

Tsubasa tilted her head slightly. It wasn’t like she had been confused by what Nico was saying, but rather intrigued, considering she leaned forward. “I think that could work,” Tsubasa said, “but I think a good first song would be one that shows the persona that you want to show to the world. Think of it as a declaration of sorts.”

“This _is_ a declaration, Tsubasa!” Nico whined. How _dare_ she think that she shouldn’t be declaring her emotions to Maki first and foremost? As much as she understood that it would be better to write a song about who she was as an idol, there was something bubbling inside of her, a file in her mental spare cabinet that was taking up far too much room, bothering her with every second she sat there, at UTX, at the school Maki went to. “It’s a declaration of love to my girlfriend!”

Tsubasa blinked, a slightly bemused smile forming on her face. However, as quickly as Nico noticed her smile, she returned to a neutral expression, trying her best to fight it off. “Nico, you said you wanted to be an idol, right?”

“That’s right!” Nico said. “And don’t worry, I know about the love ban! Nico can’t have a lover, so I can just say that I dedicate it to my audience! I love my audience, so it works out, right?”

Tsubasa tapped her fingers against the table, listening to her. She gave her a nod, as if to continue explaining what she was thinking of.

“It wouldn’t hurt to have Maki-chan in the audience. There’s that one saying that says that the best singers sound like they’re singing to someone, right?”

“I’m familiar with that,” Tsubasa said.

“What if I was actually singing to someone in the audience, like Maki-chan? I think it could give me an extra push, the little _oomph_ that will help me make my music reach my audience more!”

Tsubasa kept her gaze on Nico, but it seemed slightly darker, slightly more questioning. It was clear that she understood what Nico was going on about, but there was something slightly off-putting about it, something she couldn’t necessarily put into words.

“Are you sure it would work if it’s clear that you’re just singing to one dedicated person in the audience?”

“Relax, Tsubasa!” Nico said. “Are you sure that it’s worth worrying about if I win over the entire crowd?”

“Nico,” Tsubasa said. Her words had this slight coldness to them, one that Nico couldn’t necessarily explain, but it was something that caused a chill to run through her spine. She didn’t buy through her positivity or her persona at all. “Can I tell you something?”

Nico nodded. “Go ahead. You’re gonna be my manager and all, so I should heed your advice.”

Tsubasa took a deep breath, as if wondering how she would put her words in a way that both made sense and didn’t hurt Nico. “I’m not saying that you’re not going to be a good idol, Nico. I think that you have the potential to be amazing, and I’d be happy to have you under my wing if I become a successful manager. But you can’t let yourself believe that your entire path will be a success. Even I, and the other members of A-Rise, had to struggle to rise to the ranks of a top idol group our first year. UTX almost cut our funding, thinking it would be a stupid idea to have us represent our school at Love Live.”

“That’s insane!” Nico almost yelled. “I can’t believe that they almost dropped you. A-Rise is the best school idol unit in all of Japan!”

“We weren’t always, though, Nico. We had to practice hard. I had to learn music theory to make songs and we had to get one of the people from the dance club to help us with choreography. It wasn’t until our second year that UTX took us seriously and let us try out for Love Live, and we fought like we were going to lose funding at any moment. Erena-san and Anju-san were excited to be idols, and I had to push, to keep going. I lost sleep and sacrificed my grade standing to have a shot.”

Tsubasa’s eyes started welling with tears, ones which she held back with a deep breath. “But that’s what I loved about being an idol, putting everything into it, my blood, sweat, and tears, and seeing it all come out in the end. It was all that hard work coming together, and the thrill of seeing my friends, my family, people I don’t even know, coming together to celebrate what we can do.”

Nico sat there in silence, half in awe that she had learned so much about Tsubasa and A-Rise, but also partially annoyed that she was slightly implying that Nico was doing it all for celebrity, that the moniker of “number-one” was more important than the work, the effort, the love of the craft. She loved being an idol, the idea of being on stage and connecting to an audience. It was something she did for her siblings, her Papa, her family and friends. She wasn’t going to be told otherwise by anyone, even if it were by her mentor.

“I understand, Tsubasa,” Nico said. “I’m going to put everything into being an idol. It’s more than vanity for me.”

“I hope to see that when you show up on the first,” Tsubasa said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Eli and Maki, and I want to know if what they’ve been telling me is true. I’ll be there, and I’m sure they’ll be there, too, to cheer you on.”

“I hope they are,” Nico said. “Nozomi wasn’t that happy that I had to be here instead of graduating today.” She reached for the back of her neck with her fingers and scratched, giving a slightly discomforted smile to Tsubasa.

“I’m really sorry about that, by the way. I swear I didn’t do this just to make sure that you cared about being an idol more than your friends and family. I wanted to see you, and this was the only day I could use this room.”

“You told me,” Nico said, “but maybe you should be the one to tell Nozomi if you see her. She’s not that happy with me being here.”

“I take it she’s at Otonokizaka?”

“That’s exactly where she is.” Nico said. “The ceremony doesn’t end for another hour.”

“I’ll apologize to her when I can,” Tsubasa said. “And I’m sorry for taking away from your graduation ceremony. I know you must have been excited to be graduating,” Tsubasa said. “It’s a special time, and--”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Nico replied. “I’m willing to sacrifice a graduation ceremony if it means that I can be an idol! If I really cared about graduating, I would be there!” She balled up her hands into fists, her hands shaking slightly. There was just some anticipation that she felt, the mere idea of transitioning from being a school idol (if she could have ever called herself that) to an _actual_ , honest-to-goodness idol. She didn’t need a graduation speech or to hear the words of the new president of the student council about the meaning of progress, when she was so, so close to being able to experience it for herself.

There was no point of a graduation ceremony, not when she was getting a head start just by talking to Tsubasa. It was all coming together for her, it was all starting in that moment.

Nico was going to be an idol, and she wanted the world to know.

“Hey, Tsubasa,” Nico trailed off. “Do you know if this will be a ticketed event?”

Tsubasa thought for a moment. “I believe it’s public, but if there are tickets, how many would you like?”

“I want six.” Four for her family, one for Nozomi, one for Maki.

“Can you make one of them a front-row ticket, if you can?”


	5. I Want You to Know How I Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico and Maki go on their first date without Nozomi and Eli, and learns quite a bit about Maki in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I know that the last chapter didn't have Maki at all, so, uh, here's 12k of Nico and Maki going on a date!

“Maki-chan promised that she’d be here by noon. Where is she!?”

Nico looked around the square in front of the station, the same faceless crowd of people walking around as they had the last time; even if they were different people, it wasn’t like Nico cared. The only face that mattered at all in that group was Maki, and even then, it was clear she wasn’t even there.

Normally, she would have accepted a bit of lateness. Honestly, if she saw Maki, her anger might have melted away there and then. She had an important gift to give her, though! One that was important enough for her to call a date so soon. She was absolutely grateful that she had this date, another one to add to her collection of sweet dreams and memories, but the gift was the most important part by far.

She checked to make sure it was still there. She slipped a hand into her purse and ruffled her fingers through it until she found what she was looking for: the front-row ticket to her idol show. It was the most important thing in the world to her, the unity between the two most special parts of her life finally becoming one, where she could have someone to dedicate her performance of _Aishiteru Banzai_ and make it feel clear, feel genuine, feel heartfelt; the edges she needed to make this entire performance a success. It felt imperative for this date to happen for her to stand a chance, to have the courage to sing.

And yet, in her time of need, Maki wasn’t there. She was late. Weren’t medical professionals supposed to be timely? The more that Nico thought about it, the more that she felt infuriated by how Maki wasn’t around, but all she could do was wait until she saw her.

In her bag, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and read the message to herself.

_Sorry, Nico-chan! I got caught up with stuff from Mama and Papa._

Nico squinted at Maki’s message. She called her parents mama and papa too, it seemed. More importantly, though, it explained why she was late. Certainly, it wasn’t Maki’s choice to be late to her date with Nico, even if it was prepared two days in advance compared to the last time where there was enough time for Nozomi to turn it into a double date.

 _When do you expect to be here?_ Nico texted her, her thumbs furiously pounding into the screen. It took less than two minutes for her to get a reply.

_Give me ten minutes. I’m on my way._

Nico let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Maki was actually coming to this date. She didn’t need to give the act about leaving her to dry. But that gave her ten minutes of waiting, leaving her to be stuck with nothing to do except marinate in her thoughts. She was thankful that there were a few benches near the station for her to sit down and marinate on said thoughts.

Nico looked around, deciding to see if there was anything interesting going on around her. There wasn’t. It was the same faceless crowds that she had always known to congregate throughout the square. No signs of anyone she knew or anyone she wanted to know permeated through the group. Nothing changed the more that she watched, not even the gentle breeze that left her cheeks the lightest shade of pink. It was just a boring mid-spring day, even with the whirlwind of pink cherry blossom leaves that filled the air, like some cheesy high school romance.

Nico’s thoughts of Maki came to an abrupt end at the flash of some purple locks walking in the corner of her eye.

Nico turned her head and saw Nozomi, clad in an orange sweatshirt and black leggings, like she got the seasons of Fall and Spring confused. What interested her was that Eli wasn’t around; whether she was doing anything Nico didn’t know, but it was the first time that she had seen her since their conversation at that fast food place. Nico’s heart flew and sank, bouncing on her stomach. She wanted to run forward and tell her about her live, but at the same time, she knew that it would mean she’d have to talk about the graduation that she missed.

When Nozomi gave the place a quick survey and saw Nico staring at her, though, Nico knew that she didn’t have a choice. She’d have the discussion whether or not she wanted it; Nozomi was basically running towards her, heels clacking against the concrete.

“Nicocchi!” Nozomi cried out as the distance between them closed. Her smile grew more as it grew more clear that Nico was indeed Nico, and not someone on the street that looked like her (but of course Nozomi knew; no Nico lookalike has the same charm that Nico does). With her arms outstretched, Nozomi eventually closed the distance for them to embrace, pulling Nico up from out of her seat and into her almost-comedic resting place between her breasts.

At least her sweatshirt felt nice.

“Nicocchi! Long time no see!” She cooed. “How’ve ya been?”

Nico pulled herself out from Nozomi’s chest and looked up at her, her one part annoyance to sixteen parts happiness. It was so nice to see Nozomi again, even if she had to rub her insecurities in her face in an incredibly literal fashion. Grabbing Nozomi by the elbows, she slowly made a slight bit of distance for the two of them to share, her smile losing the slight annoyance it once held.

“I’m doing great!” Nico replied. “How are you?”

“I’m pretty good myself, thank you.”

Nozomi eyed the space next to Nico and looked at her, almost as if asking if she could sit down. With a slight nod on Nico’s part, Nozomi sat down besides her.

“What are you doing out today?” Nico asked.

“I was doing a bit of shopping. I need to get some food and see where the best chocolate shops in the area are so I can surprise my Elicchi. What about you? Does it have to do with Maki-chan?”

Nico curled her hands up into tiny balls, and Nozomi giggled. The seething rage that started leaking from Nico’s ears made clear that she had hit the bulls-eye. It was pointless for her to even try to fight back and say “I am not,” while standing up and putting her foot down in a declarative manner. It wouldn’t work on Nozomi. Thus, Nico pressed her elbows into her thighs and let out a defeated sigh.

“Yeah, I’m waiting on Maki-chan. I’m going on a date with her and I need to give her something.”

“Ooh!” Nozomi said, straightening up slightly and bringing a hand to Nico’s shoulder. “Such a charmer! What are ya giving her?”

Nico took a deep breath, her smile growing, even if the hand on her shoulder had shocked her. “So, you know how I wasn’t at graduation?” Might as well bite down on the bullet with all the force in the world.

Nozomi paused for a second, trying her best to fight the frown forming on her face. With a few blinks, she gave a more inquisitive expression. “Mhm. I’m telling you, though, you missed a riveting speech from Sonoda-san.”

“I get enough of those in the hallway,” Nico shrugged, not wishing to remember much from the student council president. She had to pull out a dictionary to find the perfect word to describe her: draconian, a perfect word. She flinched at the thought of her. “Anyway, Nozomi, I’m waiting on Maki-chan to show up so I can give her a ticket to my live show!”

“No way,” Nozomi said. “You have a live show and you’re not giving me a ticket? I’m hurt.” As teasing as Nozomi’s tone was, she could see a slight bit of genuine pain in her eyes; almost like Nozomi had come to accept that she had lost something special with Nico.

Nico brought a hand to Nozomi’s back to give her a sturdy pat, enough for her to break her attention from how she stared at Nico. “I’m gonna give you your ticket when we’re in school next. I promi--”

“Nicocchi,” Nozomi cooed, “we’ve graduated, remember?”

“Hey! I wasn’t at graduation. I forget these things!”

Nozomi chuckled, her hand slowly moving down Nico’s arm in a teasing manner. “Does this mean I get to hang out with you sometime soon? When’s the live? Where’s it at?”

“The show’s in the UTX auditorium on the first of May,” Nico said. “Tsubasa’s idol company is in charge of it.”

“Kira Tsubasa?” Nozomi asked. “She’s not performing at it?”

“She wants to be an idol manager. Isn’t it crazy?”

Nozomi nodded. “Weird how people change over time. I thought she’d want to continue being a member of A-Rise.”

“Me too!” Nico said. “She thought it was more her calling to be a manager though, and she wants me under her wing! Isn’t that awesome?”

Nozomi slowly nodded. “That’s pretty cool. Anyway,” Nozomi pulled her phone out from her purse and gave it a quick look. “I need to get going. Text me when you wanna hang out, okay!” Nozomi stood up, but she leaned into Nico to give her one final embrace. “Bye, Nicocchi!”

“Bye, Nozomi,” Nico remarked, her words almost muffled by her face being filled with bosom. It was almost relieving when Nozomi pulled away and she smelled something that wasn’t her lavender perfume. With a quick pivot from Nozomi’s heel, she ran off, leaving Nico to be once more alone.

At the very least Nozomi understood. Nozomi was always understanding; in any other world she would have given her the front-row ticket. Nozomi would have appreciated sitting with Nico’s family, so it didn’t bother her that much. There were just some people who came first in life, some people who were more important and people who would help her out so much more in her career than Nozomi, no offense to her hopefully-undying support.

It was just hard to compare Nozomi to Maki. She didn’t sign up for the audition with a song about her best friend.

At the very least, though, Nozomi was there. Her impatience was getting the best of her; had the conversation with Nozomi not lasted the entire 10 minutes? Nico checked her phone, seeing that lock screen she was all so familiar with adorned with a notification that she got a text message. Clicking on it, she smiled: it was from Maki.

When she read it, her smile grew wider.

_I’m almost here. Where are you?_

Nico straightened up in her seat; there was always the chance that Maki had already found her. Her shoes scuffled the concrete, her gaze darting from the phone to the crowd, desperate to find those streaks of red that she was so familiar with, or those glimpses of beautiful purple that made up her eyes. Just the thought of her made Nico want to break into song, and she idly typed in her phone the first thing that came to mind, not really noticing the buzzing of her phone with every key press she made.

Alas, there was no sight of Maki, and she returned her focus to the message that she was about to send.

_I’m at let’s start the magic of love right now the two of us_

Nico’s eyes widened, her thumb pressing the backspace key. She watched as her work had been deleted and couldn’t have felt more relieved. It might have been some of her best work, but to tell Maki that instead of her location? Nico at the very least had more class than to do that. Her thumbs plugged away once more, trying again with her message, telling her something important, and not the sweet nothings that were trapped in her head.

_I’m at the station_

Yet, as she sent the message, the voices grew louder, more angelic, more harmonic and melodic. She could hear the music in her head, a concert entirely dedicated to her Maki, to bring her closer. They were words that speech alone couldn’t portray the message; the melodies were just as important to making it clear the extent of her love, the arpeggiating synths that were her heartstrings, the rhythmic beating of the bass drum that was her heart. The bearing of her soul could only be done through song for her special Maki.

As romantic as it sounded, though, there was absolutely no way in Hell she’d be breaking out in song like one of those Western musicals, especially not at a train station. As addicting as the idea of a flash mob of one was, to break out into song and showcase who she was right then and there, she knew that if she tried, it’d lead to a wave of people asking for her autograph and the like. Either that, or outright mockery. It was a lose-lose no matter what happened; autographs and ostracization alike would lead to her being without a second date with Maki. The only winning move for her was to sit down on the bench and wait for Maki to show up. She needed her redheaded angel to save her from the hellscape of her boredom and her sirens begging Nico to join them.

“Hi, Nico-chan.”

At least the voice of a single angel could pierce through the aggregated noise of a thousand sirens caterwauling. With her head so far up in the clouds she didn’t bother to tilt her head a few degrees to see that Maki was standing right in front of her, wearing a black sweatshirt and twiddling a lock of hair that stuck out of her matching knit cap with her finger. Her gaze was just as pointed and sharp as ever, a stern and slightly confused look on her face as Nico’s smile grew. She was just the person she wanted to see.

“Maki-chan!” Nico cooed as she rocketed herself up from her seat, wrapping her arms around Maki’s waist, which received her a confused groan from her girlfriend. It didn’t mean she couldn’t squeeze her tightly and enjoy her warmth and the slight scent of cinnamon. “I missed you!”

“Eh?”

“It’s been so long since I got to see you, Maki-chan, what with all the cram school and whatnot. When was the last time we talked?”

“On the phone, or in person?” Maki asked, raising a slightly-suspicious brow.

“On the phone, it was yesterday, but I haven’t seen you since Valentine’s Day!”

Oh, the stories that Nico could tell about her first Valentine's Day with Maki. Even in mid-April, Nico’s kitchen smelled of chocolate, working her heart out to make the best damn chocolate in the world (with the help of four amazing taste-testers). The struggle of making such a fine and perfect chocolate, accompanied with song; it was all too much to think about at once, but she did it for her Maki.

“Nico-chan,” Maki flushed even redder, trying her best to hide in her sweater. “You really didn’t need to do that.”

“Hmm?” Nico asked, stepping onto her tip-toes. “Why not?”

Maki darted her gaze around, her toes slowly dragging a circle into the ground around herself. There was something on her mind, words that she wished she could get out; even as she reached for her hair to twirl around her finger, something to distract her enough from her thoughts to articulate herself, it seemed like she was struggling, the gears in her brain turning a bit too roughly for her to make something decent out of it.

But then, her words came out, and they were slightly pained. “I’m a bit scared about falling in love.”

It would explain the lack of texts from missing out on a Christmas date--she had been too busy with her siblings and helping her mother out to have time for something like that outside of a few text messages--and why she hadn’t received anything for White Day. Her words hit Nico like a brick wall, the hurtling momentum of her love immediately halted by confusion and fear.

“What’s there to be scared of?” Nico asked.

Maki grabbed Nico by the wrist. When their gazes met, Nico could see the shock and hurt in Maki’s eyes, her lips curled into a firm frown. Had she known that her words would have hit a raw nerve the way they did, she would have been a bit more polite with her words. “I don’t want to talk about it here. Can we find a place that’s slightly more private?”

“Uh, sure thing!” Nico said, trying her best not to think about how fast her heart was beating in her chest. Sure, Maki was mad at her, but there was something about her, the slight yanking of her wrist and the tightness of her fingers telling Nico that she wouldn’t let go of her. She was going to be a wayward spirit following her love, the way that she wanted to be. “Where to?”

“I don’t know!” Maki remarked. “Anywhere’s fine by me!”

* * *

Nico was a wayward spirit leading her love, and that was enough for Nico to start running, much to a protesting and questioning exclamation passing from Maki’s lips. She was quick to follow pace, though, as Nico darted her way through the square, past the huge crowds of faceless people, and onto sidewalks, only stopping when there were streetlights.

“Nico-chan!” Maki yelled. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see!” Nico remarked, following the path she took to her destination of choice. It was only a few turns away, and once Nico saw the red swingset peeking over the horizon, she picked up her pace.

“A swingset?” Maki asked, picking up on Nico’s slight change of pace.

“Nobody uses parks in the spring,” Nico justified as she turned inward, her feet stepping onto the grass.

A path of asphalt went through the park, which mainly consisted of a huge plot of grass. Immediately to Nico's right as she crossed the path was a row of seesaws, completely unoccupied, and right next to it, a play structure made entirely out of red bars, equally unoccupied. Given the small piles of snow that dotted the grass, it was clear why nobody wanted to show up to the park. Thankfully, though, that left the swingsets, the only things to Nico's left, completely unoccupied.

Nico brought Maki to the swings, where two of them dangled, empty. Nico sat down on one of them, grabbing onto the chains and slowly pushing herself with her feet, enjoying the slight rocking motion. She sat there, waiting for Maki to sit down next to her.

“Come on, Maki-chan!” Nico said. “It’s fun!”

“Nico-chan,” Maki replied, “I’m not here to have fun. I want to tell you something important!”

Nico’s feet dragged through the wood chips, slowing her down to a halt. She was silent, letting herself observe the pain going through Maki’s face as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. It was difficult for Nico to read her; Maki always seemed so distant, so quiet, so impersonal and asocial and unemotive.

It didn’t take too long for her to figure out what she wanted to say.

“My parents want to arrange a marriage for me.”

“Arrange a marriage? What is this, the 1950s? What’s their deal?”

“Well,” Maki said, finally conceding and sitting down on the swing next to Nico. Nico pushed her heels into the ground and started pushing herself. Maki looked on in awe. “How do you do that?”

“You’re telling me you never pushed yourself on a swing before, Maki-chan?”

“I haven’t. My parents didn’t like going to the park with me much.”

“Push off with your feet,” Nico said, and Maki followed her instructions, slowly gaining enough momentum to start swinging. “Kick your feet back when you’re going back, and kick them forward when you’re going forward.”

With Nico’s instruction, Maki eventually found herself going higher, swinging at a moderate height, one where she could get her mind clear from her thoughts, but one where she could be audible to Nico, who, too, was starting to swing higher.

Part of Nico wanted to know what Maki’s family’s deal was. The other part of her didn’t want to. The wide smile on Maki’s face as her hair danced in the wind was too precious. Her eyes were wide with wonder, the gentle thrill of the air kissing her cheeks reflected so perfectly in her smile and her grip on the chains. It was all so beautiful and perfect. It was so Maki.

“Your parents seem like a bit of a basket case if you ask me.” Nico eventually said. “Not letting you date whoever you want, and not taking you to the park! What’s up with that?”

“Hey! Don’t talk about my parents like that!” Maki retaliated. Nico’s eyes widened as Maki responded, her feet digging into the wood chips slightly to slow down. If Maki had an excuse to talk negatively about her parents, but Nico couldn't talk about her future in-laws like that, something was up.

“Well,” Nico said, “what’s with them?” There was no other way that Nico could see herself asking about Maki’s family. If they were going to arrange a marriage with Maki and didn’t teach Maki the joys of swingsets, it was within Nico’s rights to talk about her parents like that. As much as she respected them for bringing such beauty into the world, it wasn’t right that they were sheltering her so aggressively. It disgusted her.

Maki sighed, but she kept swinging, gaining slightly more momentum with each push and pull. Not that the thrill of swinging had lost its novelty on Maki, but the frown on her face concerned her; there wasn’t any amount of swinging that would make her feel better.

“Hey, Nico-chan,” Maki asked. Her words didn’t have that much of an incendiary edge to them, but Nico still felt like it was best to recoil at her words. She was probably going to ask about her family. At the very least she _liked_ her family. It was pretty big and had its problems, but it was better than Maki being sheltered indefinitely. It seemed like her parents didn’t even allow her to have fruit juices or crepes.

“How do I slow down?”

“You either jump--”

“Gyah!”

“Or you dig your feet into the ground whenever you can!”

“Are you sure that won’t ruin my shoes?”

“Shoes are meant to be ruined, Maki-chan!”

After a quarter-minute of the rhythm of heels scuffing against wood chips, Maki had slowed down enough to where she was barely dangling, her motion slow and almost invisible. She didn’t push, and she didn’t pull; she just rested there, feet dangling off her seat, as if trying to figure out the right words to say. She looked so pretty in thought, and she really didn’t want to rush her. Yet, she wanted to make sure that they were on the same page.

“Anyways,” Nico said, “what about your parents?”

“I’m getting to that!” Maki said. “I don’t know how to put it, Nico-chan! I appreciate all they do for me, but they only seem to appreciate me when I’m doing something that’ll help out the family business?”

“The hospital? “Nico asked, just to make sure.

“Yes! That hospital! They’re forcing me to do so much stuff that I don’t even want to do!” Never had Nico seen Maki so angry, the brilliance in her eyes gone, the warmth in her smile but a cold frown, eyebrows furrowed beyond their standard annoyance. It seemed so different from the Maki she knew, the Maki she loved, but she accepted it nonetheless.

“They force me down this stupid path that I don’t want to go down! I want to go into music, but they keep telling me ‘Maki, you can’t go into music, because if you do, who will run the hospital?’ It’s hospital this and hospital that to them, and the more they talk about it the more I don’t want to think about that place being my livelihood! Mama and Papa could do it, but that doesn’t mean I can!”

Maki lurched forward, her elbows pressing into her thighs and her head collapsing into her lap, looking somewhat like a harp. Nico followed, pushing her elbows into her thighs and leaning forward so that she was level with Maki. She slowly nodded, giving Maki enough time to capture her breath and figure out what she had to say next. It was clear that she was just taking a breather, enough time for her eyes not to well up with tears.

“I didn’t even know what idols were until high school.”

“You didn’t?” Nico asked. “Then what about UTX? What about A-Rise? Surely they were a part of why you joined!”

Maki shrugged. “My parents thought they were like mascots. They didn’t care about it at all. They just saw that UTX has a high quality science program and told me to go for it. I only really learned about idols when Eli pulled me aside when she saw me working in a practice room and wanted me to be the rehearsal pianist for the ballet club, and then somehow Tsubasa found out about me from there.”

“No way!” Nico yelled. Idols were what made the world go round! Nico’s mother always said that Nico’s first words were _Nico Nico Nii._ It was absolutely disgraceful that Maki hadn’t heard about them until high school. “Did your parents ever take you to concerts?”

“Outside of competitive recitals, no,” Maki said. “Sometimes, for my birthday, we would go to see the symphony, though. I really enjoyed those. Outside of that, though, no, I haven’t been to a concert before.”

Nico slipped a hand into her bag. She was going to change that right now. She was going to be going to her concert, whether Maki’s parents wanted her to or not. To hell with what they thought. If Maki was going to be a member of contemporary society, the least Nico could do was give her an idol concert to listen to.

It didn’t hurt that it was her own concert.

“Would you like to go to one?” Nico asked Maki; she grabbed onto the ticket and pulled it out of her bag, trying to hide it with her body like a surprise present for a few seconds. After two seconds, though, she grabbed the ticket with both hands and stretched her arms out to Maki, showing off the ticket. She didn’t know whether or not to look at Maki’s face, with how flushed it probably was, or at the ground, which wouldn’t be judgmental in the slightest. 

She decided, naturally, to look at Maki; she was too cute not to look at, especially when she was flustered.

“Nico-chan,” Maki’s voice was almost a question in its inflection. “What is that?”

“It’s a ticket to my show!” Nico said, inching herself as close to Maki as she could while sitting down on her swing. Planting her feet into the ground, Nico reached forward, trying her best to put the ticket into Maki’s hands. “I have a show on the first! I’m auditioning for Tsubasa’s company, and I really want you to be there!”

“Eh!?” Maki asked, pushing herself away from the ticket for a few seconds, much to Nico’s distaste. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, surprised she’d ever have to be mad at Maki. This was a front row seat, one which she had Tsubasa fight tooth and nail to get for her. She wasn’t going to let this be thrown by the wayside, especially not by her girlfriend. Maybe it was just her hot temper burning a bit too quickly against Maki’s ice, but the knee-jerk reaction still hurt.

Nico, despite her anger, found a way to tilt her head and don an innocent expression. “Maki-chan?” She asked, her voice high and syrupy even by her own standards. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you sure that Mama and Papa would let me go? I mean, it’s a Saturday, right? They’ll probably want me to study.”

Nico scoffed. “Tell your parents that you want to live a little. You won’t be in their control forever, you know.” Once Maki was outside of her parents’ controlling clutches, she’d find her way into Nico’s arms. It’d be a Cinderella story fitting for a hospital princess such as Maki, and no less; she deserved it that way. “They’d probably be happy to hear that you have friends! You’ve already gone on dates with me before, so why would this concert be any different?”

“I, uh,” Maki started. The question of whether or not Maki’s parents would let her go out on a Saturday afternoon was already answered: she was with Nico, on a date. It was almost like she had been so caught up in their date that she had taken it for granted, which, honestly, Nico didn’t mind one bit. The more comfortable Maki felt on this date, the better. Especially if it meant that she was getting comfortable with Nico.

That was always a good thing.

“You see, Maki-chan,” Nico continued, “you have a lot more autonomy in your life than you give yourself credit for.” If her words couldn’t reach Maki’s heart, then she hoped that the smile she gave would be helpful. She wanted to see her smile, the smile that she loved seeing, even if it always felt like a gamble to get out of her.

And she didn’t have a lucky hand.

“Nico-chan,” Maki began. “As much as I appreciate that, I’m not sure when my family will crack down on me. They’re probably really confused about me going out as often as I do.”

“They’re not used to you having friends?”

Maki sighed, pushing her hands into her face. “It’s not that, Nico-chan.” She didn’t care to elaborate, though, letting the silence after her words hopefully speak what she had on her mind. Either that, or she struggled to figure out what she wanted to say; Nico didn’t know, and she didn’t want to interrupt in the case that Maki had figured out what words were best to express her thoughts.

Eventually, though, they came through.

“They’re not used to me being out of the house. I told them I was going to study with a few friends when I went on the date, just the same as when we met at the club. They never ask questions when I put it that way, because they don’t see a point in asking. They think they know where I’m going and they trust me enough to actually study. They’re probably not going to buy a bunch of study dates during the beginning of the year.”

Nico nodded. “I see. Well, tell them that you’re doing things with your study group. They’ll understand that much, right? New class, new people to study with, and more friendships to make! Easy!”

“I guess,” Maki replied, a hand leaving the chains to once more find peace within her hair. “It wouldn’t hurt to say something like that. My only concern is what if they want to meet you? Are you even going to college?”

“I’m taking a gap year!” Nico replied. “If I don’t get this invitation from Tsubasa and her company, I’ll go in. If I do, there’s no point in me learning if I’m going to be making a whole lotta money from being an idol, you know?”

Maki tilted her head slightly. “What happens when you’re done being an idol or you have to retire?”

Nico scoffed. There was no way that she was going to be fired or lose her idol career to anything. “That won’t happen, Maki-chan. People won’t get enough of me once I’m an idol. They’ll be buying my songs by the boxful.” There was no conceivable way for her not to be an idol. She’d be an idol for as long as she had Maki.

And she’d have Maki forever.

“Besides,” Nico said. “At that point I’d probably have a lot of connections who would be dying to help me out, or at least help me find a place to settle down and a job for me. I’m sure that things will be fine.”

Nico pushed herself closer to Maki, planting her weight upon her tiptoes as they clawed into the ground, trying not to be swung back by the chains. She wanted to reach an arm out, as if to tell her that everything truly was going to be okay. She wore her best soft face, trying to play the part of someone who cared, and brought an arm out, her hand near Maki for her to grab and express the gratitude of her comfort. “I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. I promise you, Maki-chan; we’ll be fine.”

A few seconds of silence filled the air between them, the cool spring breeze filling her ears and chilling her hand. The more she waited, the more she wanted to feel Maki’s warmth against her, those soft and silky hands that would fit absolutely perfectly with Nico’s, with her long, pianist fingers. It didn’t matter that Maki was younger and had larger hands; she just wanted to _feel_ them, to have Maki’s hand against her own, to feel complete with her soulmate.

Maki slowly reached out her hand to grab onto Nico’s, and her grip was barely firm. It was gentle, almost delicate, the kind of grip that made clear how tentative Maki felt, and yet, it was so warm, so caring; Nico wanted to intertwine her fingers with Maki’s, as if to tell her that she meant every word she told her. There was nothing that would stop her from making life perfect for Maki.

It was worth it for her. It was worth the short time where they were enjoying each other, where seconds felt like hours and she could feel Maki’s heartbeat against her wrist. It was so firm and rhythmic, with a gentle accelerando that Nico had been quick to pick up on. Keeping her grip on Maki’s hand, she squeezed her tightly, thumb trying its best to interlace with Maki’s.

Maybe it was Maki playing hard to get, or Maki trying to process it all and she was just too shy, but the amount that her thumb fought back against Nico’s advances were, to put it lightly, had a je ne sais quoi about it. Her thumb slowed down, not wanting to capture her; as much as she wanted to, she knew that if she tried, it would only pull Maki away further. She’d need to wait for Maki’s thumb to be comfortable.

Yet, Maki’s fingers interlaced between Nico’s.

“So,” Nico said, finally mustering enough courage for her to take control of the conversation and break the silence between them. “Are you gonna go to my concert?” Her voice was light, airy, like the air had been taken out of her and she was using her reserved breath. A glimpse of Maki would have been enough for her to be breathless with her hand in Maki’s; just the sight of the redheaded goddess besides her, with the slightly concerned smile on her face that screamed that she was putting trust in Nico, was enough to move even the largest of mountains. Mt. Fuji didn’t stand a chance in terms of sheer beauty.

It was so bad that she felt a song starting to come on, one that she suppressed; she didn’t want to make Maki blush too red and call the date off from embarrassment. She never knew what was going on in her head, so Nico wanted to keep it in mind. If only she knew; if only she could read Maki’s mind and know what made their encounters so dramatic. She wanted to smooth it all out, and as much as she hoped music could do that, there was something in her gut that told her otherwise, that it’d be a bad idea.

She followed her gut. Maki was far too beautiful for her to lose over something so stupid.

Without the music, though, what could Nico do to express her feelings towards Maki? She thought for a few seconds, letting out a low hum as she examined the multitude of options in her head, a mixture of grand spectacles and smaller-scale tokens of appreciation and affection. Somehow, though, an idea found itself in her mind, one that perverted her thoughts; one that she knew she would like, but what about Maki? She might have been a bit too high-class for it, but that was probably not the case.

Nobody could resist a good fast food hamburger. According to television, not even the rich could resist the charm of a fantastic and fresh burger fresh off the griddle. At least, that’s what the advertisements said, and there wasn’t a lot of truth to advertisements. Nico _knew_ those burgers weren’t fresh off a griddle, but it didn’t mean that she shouldn’t try it out.

“Hey, Maki-chan,” Nico asked. “You wanna get some food?”

Maki nodded her head, pushing herself out of her seat. “Sure. I haven’t eaten lunch yet.”

“Me neither,” Nico said as she stood up, tugging slightly at Maki’s arm. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Eh?” Maki asked, her word the unquantifiable but confused noise that Nico had already grown to know and love. It was always so cute. “I don’t know!”

Nico tugged on her arm again and took a step forward. “I know a place that you might love, Maki-chan!” She looked over her shoulder, making sure that her gaze connected with Maki’s, even with her head tilted in confusion and a hand reaching up to perform another of Maki’s beautiful quirks: the finger in the hair.

“Where do you want to go?” Maki asked, a nervous smile tugging on the corners of her lips.

“I know just the place, Maki-chan! I know you’ll love it!”

Maki’s smile grew larger. “Do they have any tomato dishes?”

Did ketchup count? Ketchup counted. That was made of tomatoes. Whether or not Maki wanted to argue about the semantics of ketchup as tomatoes, it didn’t matter. The burgers had tomato slices too. “Not as the centerpiece, but they definitely have tomatoes!”

Maki’s smile grew, and the sight of a happy Maki made Nico smile even more. She knew that it would be a perfect fit for Maki.

And off they went.

* * *

“Nico-chan?”

“Yes, Maki-chan?”

“Where are the tomato dishes?”

Nico and Maki looked at the three television screens above the counter which proudly displayed the menu. One showed all the value meals and combos, the double and triple cheeseburgers and different kinds of chicken sandwiches, each placed with a large box of fries and a soft drink. One of them showed all of the a la carte options, cheaper items and things that could be bought for less than ¥200. The last one showed desserts and, almost as if tempting fate, kids’ meals. None of them changed, showcasing anything further, and in not showing anything new showcased the little white lie that Nico had said to get Maki to come here.

Her shoes scuffed against the tiled floor as she faced Maki, glad that there wasn’t a soda spill for her foot to catch; the place was, thank goodness, clean. Giving the menu a quick look, she noticed one of the chicken sandwiches, with its fluffy bun, crispy bread, and crisp lettuce, hiding away a bright red slice of tomato that barely peaked out of the sandwich, almost like an afterthought to the main course. It was something, and it was something Nico could point at and prove that she was indeed correct about there being tomatoes.

“There’s a tomato right there. You could probably ask for extra without being charged for it.”

“I hope so,” Maki said, “but I’m not really in the mood for a chicken sandwich.”

After a bit of glimpsing, she found a tomato on top of a triple cheeseburger and pointed towards it. “You can get a cheeseburger with tomato on it, too!”

“I guess,” Maki said, tapping her toes against the ground, “but I’m not sure I’m in the mood for a hamburger either. Does this place have anything else?”

Nico shrugged. “It’s fast food. You’re not really given a lot of options, and especially not a lot of healthy ones.”

“I guess that’s why Mama and Papa never came to these places with me.”

Nico turned her head in shock. What exactly did Maki’s parents let her _do_? She didn’t go to playgrounds, she didn’t eat fast food, she didn’t get to choose who she married. As much of a princess as Maki was, it must have sucked having such a strict king and queen keeping her locked up in a tower. She worried not; she would be her pauper, the one who let her explore the world for what it truly was: more than the rich world reality that she thought was true.

“You’ve never been here before?”

Maki shook her head. The nerve of her parents to deprive her of fast food. Even if it were a bimonthly thing in the Yazawa household at the very most, it was a staple, something that always put a smile on Nico’s face when she learned that Mama was going to let her take a break from working on food. It never quite hit the spot like home cooking did--it was usually outright garbage in every way--but there was just something about watching the joy on her siblings’ faces as they ate and played with the toys that came out of the box that made eating the outright garbage that she ordered so amazing.

And, hey, even if it were garbage, it was always _so_ good.

“You haven’t lived, Maki-chan!” Even if Maki had been spoiled by her family so much that her royal palate couldn’t stomach the taste of a cheeseburger, she had to have Maki try it out. It didn’t matter that it was alien to her; so much of this loving stuff was alien to her as well and it didn’t mean she gave up the first chance she got. “You know what you want to try?”

Maki looked at the menu once more. “What do people usually get?”

Nico looked at the screen with the value meals, and stared down the one labeled #1: The Classic Double Cheeseburger. True to its name, between two fluffy sesame seed buns were two patties, juicy and charred brown, with a slice of cheese between them as well as one on top of the entire affair. Pickles, onions, lettuce, and, most importantly, tomatoes were stacked proudly on top, each vegetable daring to dangle off and fall onto the table. It was not just food: it was a work of art. It was the perfect sandwich, to be stared at and loved, one where everyone knew that the burgers they would get were a mere facsimile.

Well, at least Nico hoped Maki understood that, because it was exactly what she was going to get her.

“That’s the one, Maki-chan. The Classic Double Cheeseburger. It’s what I usually get, and I think you’d love it, too.”

“I hope so,” Maki remarked, her words almost idle to fill the void. She wanted to make sure Nico knew she was listening.

Her words were enough for Nico to take a step forward and towards the cashier, who stared her down. Her smile was so large, so hard not to smile back at; it was miraculous someone could smile while working a job so mundane as being a fast food cashier, yet she did it with flying colors. Perhaps, in another world, she would be an amazing school idol. “Hello! What can I get you?”

“Can I get two large Classic Double Cheeseburger meals, one with extra tomatoes and ketchup?”

“Sure thing! That’ll be ¥950!”

Nico reached into her purse and pulled out ¥1000 before placing it atop the white marblesque countertop. “Here you go. Keep the change.”

“Thank you!” the cashier said as she opened the register and slipped the bill in, only to give Nico a ¥50 coin. Nico begrudgingly took it and slipped it into her wallet, not wanting to argue with what was probably protocol. After a few more seconds of buzzing and whirring, the receipt slowly came out of the register, which the cashier tugged at and gave to Nico. “You’re order 753.”

“Thank you,” Nico said as she took a step back and grabbed Maki by the wrist, indicating to the world that she was hers, even if she had a questioning sound come from Maki. Giving her a slight tug, she looked at her, her gaze implying that they were good to go. She tugged again and headed towards the dining area, with her ears open in case the order was ready before she had a chance to sit down.

“How much did it cost?” Maki asked. “I’d be happy to reimburse you. Certainly, it must be slightly expensive to get two meals…”

“It cost less than ¥1000. Don’t worry about it, Maki-chan.”

“¥1000 for two burgers and fries?” Maki asked, incredulously. Did her family make her unaware of just how inexpensive fast food was? Surely, part of why they were so against giving Maki fast food had to be that it was lowbrow and for the common man, and that it was cheap.

“That’s what it usually costs, yeah,” Nico said. “It’s not that expensive. Fast food’s cheap.”

Maki drummed her fingers against the table. “I didn’t think it would be that cheap. I’m used to ¥1000 covering for a single meal at least, not two entire meals!”

“Well, welcome to the world outside of the hospital princess’ bubble,” Nico said, taking a deep breath, smelling the greasy, oversalted air. It was amazing in the most disgusting way; the perfect scent for fast food. “Hello, fast food!” Nico smiled, laying back in her seat, her back up against the metal backing of the chair. This was the way life was meant to be lived, far beyond the luxuries of the world and indulging in the luxuries of the spirit, even if they were self-destructive.

No better way to show that than with hamburgers.

“Have you at least had a hamburger before, Maki-chan?”

“I’ve seen my family get them before, but I’ve usually been one to enjoy other things, to be honest. I can’t say that they don’t look amazing, from what I’ve seen.”

“Prepare to be amazed, then, Maki-chan, because these are some of the best burgers money can buy!”

Whether or not Nico was going to have to argue that when Maki took her first bite and wasn’t used to the flavor of a fast food burger or not--they were much different from her own home cooking, let alone how they probably tasted at a high-end restaurant like one that Maki was much more used to--she didn’t care, nor did she really mind if it meant that she could have further conversation. It was definitely an acquired taste, one that she wasn’t sure if Maki had already, but that was part of being the girlfriend of a princess: there were so many surprises in store.

She was surprised that even a fast food date counted as a surprise.

“I hope they are,” Maki said, a smile growing on her face. “I’ve heard so much about this place from friends, and they all have great things to say about it. If it’s really as good as they say it is for the price that you bought it at, I’ll probably have to come back here sometime.”

“It’s honestly so shocking that you haven’t had fast food. I thought that was something that everyone’s done. It’s a rite of passage, like watching an idol concert. Good thing you’re doing those things with me, because I’ll make sure that your first taste of the real world is the most delicious bite you can sink your teeth in!” Nico's smile grew, and her tone slowly saturated itself in confidence. If Maki were to live with her, she’d have to know what her world was like, the world of enjoying the low class life.

She could just imagine the other things that Maki must have missed out on. Candy shops for cheap. Arcades. Trainspotting, even. Just living life for the sake of living life and knowing how fun it is to simply live. Those were but the first things on the top of her list, one that slowly grew in her brain the more she thought and let the silence--at least, the most silent a fast food restaurant could be between the babbling of kids and their families and the whirring of machinery cooking the food--of the space fill the air between them. It was an ambience that never grew old.

“Who cooks the food here?” Maki asked.

“Some fry cooks do,” Nico says. “People who don’t get paid enough for giving us the gift of fast food! It’s honestly kind of a shame, but hey. Fast food fry cooks are almost like idols: they work their asses off to make people smile, so it’s shameful that they don’t get the prestige they deserve!”

“What a metaphor,” Maki remarked, giving her the slightest of scoffs. Maki must have still believed that she was better than fast food, which, even if she were right and she deserved much better than cheap lard-coated quasi-cow hamburgers that barely constituted as food that were better for the soul than they were for the body, was a completely ignorant assessment. If anything, the first bite of burger would be a test of that ego. Nobody could beat the burger, and Maki would have to eat her words.

“Order seven fifty-three!”

She’d eat them right now, in fact. Nico stood up with a smirk, giving her a slight nod. It was much more than a metaphor. She headed away from the table and towards the counter, towards the tray on the counter with the two cheeseburgers, wrapped in their nondescript paper wrappings, two large white boxes of fries with stars covering them like stickers, and two empty paper cups that were slightly shorter than Nico’s forearms. They never skimped on the drinks. Grabbing the tray with two hands, she gave the cashier a bow, the scent of the fries filling her nose and making her mouth water.

Maki would see what it was like to live a life outside the world of a princess.

“Thank you!” Nico said, her smile soft and her voice high-pitched, as if she were practicing with them her idol persona. As she stood up and took full control of the tray, she pivoted on her foot and headed back towards the table where Maki sat. In the time it took for Nico to return, Maki had grown bored enough to plug away at her phone.

“I got the food!” Nico said. “What are you doing?”

“I’m responding to a text Mama sent me, making sure I’d be back by 4.”

“Well, what time is it now?”

Maki looked at her phone for a few more seconds. “One thirty.”

“That gives us more than enough time to enjoy ourselves!” Nico remarked as she placed the tray on the table, grabbing one of the boxes of fries and one of the hamburgers. Quickly, she scanned over the hamburger wrapper, looking for any markers that could have designated whether or not there were the extra tomatoes on the hamburger. There were no marks, and as she removed the packaging from the burger, she was able to see the one small slice of tomato on top of her burger.

It was such a shame she had to focus on that first, instead of letting herself take in the sight of the burger. Even if it wasn’t the complete majesty of the burger that was on the menu, much to Maki’s possible chagrin, Nico saw the hamburger in front of her as a success, the burger looking juicy and cooked all the way through, charred that delicious brown she knew from the many times she ate from here before, and the way that the toppings were stacked made clear that it was the perfect burger. It was what she came for: fast food, and she put it down, letting herself admire Maki’s first glimpses of her hamburger.

When Maki unraveled the burger like a delicious and unhealthy gift, she looked at it with a perplexed expression. It looked much like Nico’s burger, one that wasn’t fit for being seen as the model hamburger, but was a great burger in its own right. She’d use the same words to describe it bar for the amount of tomatoes, three slices as opposed to the single one she was used to; Nico would call that excessive, but Maki said something about liking tomato salads so this probably was a case of her having too much burger in her tomato sandwich. That was less the problem, though, as the sight of Maki’s confusion in her eyes, scanning the sandwich like it were an alien artifact, like she were cheated in some way by the fast food company into buying something she didn’t want.

“Is it supposed to look like this, Nico-chan?” Maki asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She placed the burger down on her tray, a slight look of disgust on her face while a smatter of ketchup leaked from the center of the sandwich and dribbled down the side of the burgers and bun.

“Yeah,” Nico said. “It’s supposed to look like that. Don’t worry, though!” She said, her voice trying to showcase some sort of warmth, like she wanted to prove something to Maki. It was never about how it looked. “It’s all about how it tastes, and the more I’m looking at my burger, the more I wanna eat. _Itadakimasu!_ ”

And with that, Nico picked up her burger and brought it to her lips, opening them as wide as they could as she took that first bite. There was no way to describe just how amazing fast food tasted. As it landed on her tongue, the symphony of savory and somewhat sweet exploded upon her palate like the climax of a finale, the hints of richness from the pickles and tomatoes accentuated by mustard like the impact of a choir that backed a lead singer throughout the final chorus of a final encore. It was a taste that she believed could move anyone in the world. It was heavenly, and she made it clear in the moan she let out just how much she loved it and how much she expected Maki to love it, too. Who wouldn’t love a hamburger of such a high quality standard?

“Come on, Maki-chan!” Nico said. “Try it out!”

Slowly, but surely spurred on by the bite that Nico gave her burger, Maki brought her food to her mouth and took a small bite. Whether it was her showcasing just how much of a princess she was or whether she didn’t trust Nico’s palate she didn’t know, but she observed Maki’s lips, wondering what her reaction was going to be as she grew comfortable with the food, whether or not that symphony that Nico felt in her mouth to Maki was but a cacophony, one which was completely unbearable for her to withstand.

As the corners of her lips curled up into a smile, even if it were slight, Nico felt a wave of relief rush through her body, one that grew when Maki swallowed, paused for a few seconds, and gave a secondary bite, one that was bigger than the one before it; it was time for Maki to actually enjoy the food in front of her, and as her smile grew as she chewed on the second bite of her food, Nico returned to her own burger, taking a second bite of her own; she didn’t need to worry about what Maki felt anymore.

There was no need to worry. Maki loved it, or she didn’t want to hurt Nico’s feelings. Yet, she wasn’t just pulling the tomatoes out from the sandwich and eating them by themselves. Maybe she didn’t do that because it’d look incredibly weird, but it would be the ultimate form of disrespect to the burger: taking it apart and enjoying only the good parts. Alas, she didn’t, enjoying the burger, tomatoes, buns, patties, and condiments alike. It was relieving in such a surreal way to know Maki was enjoying herself.

But even better, Maki was enjoying something she bought her. If there was anything else to take away from it, Nico didn’t care; she chose that hamburger and, given the increasing pace of Maki’s bites, she was clearly enjoying herself. She could look at Maki eating her burger for years, but she had to make sure that her own burger wasn’t getting cold, and thus, she took a few bites, enjoying them even more knowing that it was something Maki liked as well.

Perhaps that was the relief that Nico was seeking. Regardless, she took big bites, enjoying every component of the burger as they landed on her tongue whenever she chewed her bites up, sharing the smile that Maki had on her face, even if it didn’t radiate the same beauty that Maki’s smile radiated.

“This is so good!” Nico said between bites, taking another one to prove her point. She let out a blissful moan, as if she were trying out for an advertisement for the restaurant, which received an unamused glare from Maki. Nico immediately stopped, but she kept chewing on her bite of burger, letting her enjoyment take an infinitely quieter tone.

“I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is, but this is honestly delicious.” Maki admitted, filling the silence with her own betrayal of expectations. Taking another bite, one which lacked the resignation of understanding she was biting into fast food--commoner food--she let her enjoyment be known in her silence, as if she were meditating on the flavors.

It was something Nico could have emulated had she slowed down and had any burger left to eat; her final bite she plucked from between her thumb and forefinger, and it was mainly bun and lettuce, with a smattering of condiments. It was absolutely no bite of a juicy hamburger, but there were sacrifices everyone had to make and that was one of them. Regardless, she chewed on it much like it were a bite of the burger proper.

“Have you had the fries?” Nico asked, grabbing the box of fries closest to her and snagging a few of the golden straws from it. Biting into them, even with how plain they were, brought an identical dopamine flood that the burger before it gave, with Nico unable to keep silent about her enjoyment. They were crisp yet fluffy, a delicacy of texture accompanied by a wave of savory saltiness for flavor. It was too much for her to handle, and she let out another moan of enjoyment, as if to indirectly lead Maki into trying them for herself.

With an unamused expression, Maki leaned in and grabbed a few fries from her box, pulling them out and examining them under the ceiling lights. The fries glistened with oil, a slightly dull sheen that finished their appearance as incredibly artificial. Everything there, though, was artificial, and Maki’s guard was already down from the burger in front of her. Thus, she took a bite and, with reddening cheeks, let out a gasp of pleasure. It was clear how little she wanted to emulate Nico and her eating habits--she was a _lady_ , after all--but she couldn’t handle herself. The peasant food had struck her lowered defenses once more, and Maki subjected herself to the utopia of oversalted and over processed foods. They were much better than what she had expected, and they were also so cheap.

“I’ll admit,” Maki said after swallowing, her voice low in volume. “Those are good.” To prove her point, she grabbed a few more and brought them to her mouth, letting the fries fall in.

Nico’s smirk grew as she watched Maki eat her fries, and Nico kept going on her own box, taking them by the handful. They were absolutely delicious, Nico knew this, but there was something sweet about knowing that Maki was going to enjoy her food. This wasn’t like their last date where they went somewhere where Maki was used to the food; this was a fast food date, something which Nico felt was more appropriate for a high school date (not that she didn’t love the expensive food or making Maki feel like she was worth the world, which she was). It opened up avenues; it let her know that through the facades and demeanor, Maki was still a high schooler, that she was _younger_ than Nico, even, a relieving thought to know that she wasn’t put behind in the dust already.

“Hey, Nico-chan,” Maki said, pulling her out from her little victory. “All this food’s incredibly salty. Do you know if there’s anything here that I can drink?”

Nico stood up, eyeing the two cups that were upside down. Indeed, there was a way for her to relieve the parchedness of fast food, and it was located in the opposite corner of the restaurant: a self-serve soda fountain, complete with several options for Maki’s selecting pleasure.

“Have you ever had soda?” Nico asked.

Maki scoffed at her. So the incredibly rich and spoiled didn’t live a life _completely_ devoid of lower-class pleasures. Even if fast food used to be off the table, at least Maki wasn’t living under such a gold-covered rock that soda was a novelty. Nico motioned over to the soda machine on the other side of the restaurant and took both cups with her, as if waiting to see if Maki would join her.

With the slight scuffling of shoes behind her, Nico knew Maki decided to follow her across the room, until they were at the soda machine. Nico gave Maki one of the cups before placing the one in his hands underneath the Cola dispenser. As the bubbly brown liquid spewed forth and filled Nico’s cup, she looked over her shoulder, at Maki, as if to tell her how this machine worked.

Maki scoffed and put her cup next to Nico’s, filling it with orange soda. She raised an eyebrow, noticing the difference in color between drinks. “Hey, Nico-chan,” she said. “Is there any reason why my soda’s orange and yours is brown?”

“I got cola, you got orange soda.”

“I thought all of them would give cola!”

“Just the one that says it gives cola. Yours says it gives orange soda.”

“Are you kidding me?” Maki said, squeezing her cup, with clear anger beyond that of not being served cola. Nico looked at her with a slightly worried expression, watching as a few streams of orange soda dribbled down Maki’s cup.

“What’s wrong?”

“I hate oranges!”

“It’s alright,” Nico said, placing her cup on the counter before taking the cup from Maki’s hand. “You can take my soda if you’re not going to enjoy this one.” Orange soda wasn’t Nico’s favorite, but if Maki was going to have her date ruined by having orange soda, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make to enjoy it with her burger while Maki had her cola.

Let it be known that Nico was able to make sacrifices, especially for her loved ones.

“You can have my cola if you want.”

Maki was quick to grab Nico’s former beverage, spilling a slight amount of it. Thankfully, none of it landed on her arm, staining her jacket, but it was still enough for her to look at Nico with a concerned expression, one that Nico had already planned for; she was busy reaching for two cup covers, and she placed one onto Maki’s cup, along with a straw. 

Nico covered her cup and got the straw out of its paper wrapper, sticking it in her drink and taking a long sip. How could Maki hate something like this? It was deliciously sweet and tangy, but if it was something she didn’t like, she wasn’t going to dig too far into it. She’d probably bring up the firecracker rolls or something like that. Regardless, with cups covered, she returned her attention to the table and walked over to it, knowing that Maki was to follow.

Once they sat down, Nico put her cup on the tray and returned her focus to her fries, which were almost gone. She stared down Maki as she sat down and turned her focus to her burger, a crescent of what it once was. It only took her two more bites, two of the slowest and most dignified bites Nico had ever seen--it was like she had walked in on Maki eating with the emperor. It was so ludicrous, but Nico said nothing; she just finished her fries.

As Maki turned to her fries, Nico turned to her soda, taking long swigs as the beverage flushed away the salty aftertaste from her own fries. She could feel the deliciously sweet syrup coat her throat with every swallow, leaving her mouth a wonderland of orange flavor. She silently cursed the taste as she smacked her lips, letting herself indulge in the soda; there was no way Maki was going to kiss her with her mouth tasting of one of her least favorite foods. With a resigned shrug, Nico sipped at her beverage, the carbonation tickling her mouth and throat.

It didn’t take too long--which honestly surprised Nico--for Maki to finish her fries. Maybe it was that she loved the fries more than the burger, or that they were lighter, or that Maki realized that every minute she sat eating fries was one she could spend doing literally anything else with Nico. Nico didn’t know, but as Maki stood up with her tray in one hand and her beverage in the other, it was clear that she was done with being here.

“I can take this cup outside the restaurant, right, Nico-chan?”

“It’s made of paper. Go ahead.” Nico replied, standing up and leading Maki to the trash cans, where she put the tray and placed the piece of paper that rested atop the tray, splotches of fry oil, wrappers, and all, into the trash. Brushing her hands, she turned to face Maki, who outstretched her hand with her drink, as if asking Nico to take it in her hand.

“I should probably wash my hands,” Maki said. “They’re all greasy. Can I trust you with my drink?”

“Of course!” Nico cooed as she took the drink from Maki’s hands. “Your drink is safe with me!”

And so Maki went to the bathroom to freshen her hands up, leaving Nico with her drink. Nico let out a small sigh of relief once she disappeared behind the large wooden door. She was so happy to hear that Maki was actually a fan of fast food. There were so many ways the date could have gone wrong, and it actually went alright. That was a success in Nico’s eyes. It wasn’t a big enough success to consider engagement or even a kiss, but it was something, and that was enough for her.

Well, she did have Maki’s drink, the cola that Nico originally got. Even if her mouth tasted of orange soda, she could have taken a sip right then and there: an indirect kiss! How scandalous of her to do!

She knew that she gave Maki her word, but she knew two things: 

One: if she took a small enough sip, Maki wouldn’t have noticed.

Two: the cola was her drink originally.

And that was all the rationale she took in wrapping her lips around Maki’s straw and taking that sip of cola. Perhaps it was the orange soda speaking, or it was Maki’s lips around the drink, or maybe even the rumor that fast food sodas just tasted better, but the cola seemed so much sweeter, even by the restaurant’s standards. There was just something about it that she couldn’t put her finger on, but she wanted more, even if her first sip was far too much. There was just something about the sweetness, the bubbliness, the fact that it wasn’t outrageously orange; it was cola, that beautiful drink, as sweet and salty and weird but lovable as it came.

Hearing the door open, Nico pulled her lips away from Maki’s drink and brought her lips to her own straw, taking a long pull. In the case they kissed, Nico didn’t want to be caught with the flavor of Maki’s cola on her tongue. She was supposed to have trusted her, but hey, it’s soda. She could do this because it was cute and romantic.

“Welcome back, Maki-chan!” Nico cooed as she saw Maki step out of the bathroom, extending the hand that had Maki’s drink in it. Just to make sure, though, she sipped at the straw closest to her and was welcomed with the flavor of orange. Whether or not it was a rich person thing to hate oranges, Nico didn’t know nor did she care. She just wanted to make sure Maki got her drink.

She’ll keep the sip she had as a little secret.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went swimmingly.

It was hard to say just how quickly time seemed to pass whenever Nico was with Maki, but before she knew it, the walks throughout the districts and through the malls all added up, and before she even knew it, Maki’s phone had buzzed and messaged her that she had to go back to her place.

Knowing Maki’s parents, or what little Nico did know from their date, she wasn’t keen on seeing them, and she guessed they weren’t keen on seeing her, some college student taking a year off with _their_ daughter, the princess of Nishikino or whatever title they wanted to give her? Sure, she was a princess, but she was Nico’s princess, not the royalty that had obligations. Princesses were meant to be cute, not doing things!

Taking a deep breath, Nico looked at Maki, trying to forget the fog in her head regarding her parents. She knew that it would be a bad look to badmouth them, even if they had it coming. They were _Maki’s_ parents, after all, and thus they were to be respected, even if it was clear that they didn’t really respect Maki the way she deserved to be respected. Nico knew how to respect her, though.

“Say, Maki-chan, about that ticket I gave you at the start of this date…”

“Date!?” Maki asked, exasperated.

“Did I say that? Slip of the tongue.” Nico winked, deriving a slight bit of pleasure in flustering Maki. She was always beautiful, but she was really cute when her face was red and she was embarrassed. Maki looked at her with an unamused expression, answering her question like she didn’t just call the four hours they spent walking around the prefecture, swinging on swings, and eating together a date.

“What about the ticket?” Maki asked.

Nico’s eyes swelled up slightly, as if she caught herself in the heat of passion. This was so much harder than what she expected a proposal to feel like. It meant the entire world to her if she would go, to support her in her time of greatest need. “Will you go to my live?”

Maki nodded, not even giving her a few seconds of dramatic pause. “Of course I’ll go!” She pulled the ticket out from her bag and gave it a quick look-over, flushing as she looked it over. She put it back in, her face reddening even more. “I’ll be cheering you from the front seat,” she mumbled.

Of course Maki would be that supportive of her! With a twirl, Nico closed the distance between herself and Maki, wrapping her arms around her frame. Although initially met with a noise of ambiguous approval, the kind of noise Nico had associated with Maki, she gave her a tight squeeze, a sweet smile on the corners of her lips.

“Thank you so much, Maki-chan!”

That was enough for Maki’s arms to concede defeat and wrap around Nico, although not as tightly as Nico’s arms were around her. Maki felt so warm, though. It was honestly a pain knowing that she’d have to pull away and bid her adieu.

Thus, she ripped off the metaphorical band-aid early and released Maki from her clutches. “I’ll see you on the first then, right?” Nico asked.

Maki nodded. “I will see you then.” Slowly, Maki turned around, her gaze the last thing to look away from Nico. “Until then, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Maki-chan!”

As much as she wanted to let out the final bit of her phrase, she knew that it would fluster Maki even more, and maybe it was the wrong place to do it. Not that it wasn’t imbued with passion, and the word had filled her mind since the first time she saw Maki, but it wasn’t the right place.

As Nico turned towards the station and entered it to find her train, it became clear when she’d say those words to Maki.

She’d say them at the end of her audition, on-stage.

_I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Nico finally meets her in-laws-to-be is going to be quite the trip, I tell you what, but before I could do that, I have a concert to write!


	6. I Want to Make It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico has her audition for Tsubasa's talent agency.

“Tsubasa, I’m nervous.”

“Isn’t this what you wanted, Nico?”

It had been everything that Nico had wanted, from the private seclusion of a dressing room--complete with a star on the door (no matter how much she fought Tsubasa to have it there)--to the rows of bright lights that shone from the mirror and back onto her face, showcasing the paleness of Nico’s cheeks as she applied blush. It was just enough for her cheeks to look pink, like she was looking at Maki indefinitely; she normally wasn’t one for too much makeup, but she had to admit that she looked cute, especially with how well it looked with a light pink lipstick.

Tsubasa really knew her way around makeup, but that was a given: she was Nico’s manager, and in her time of need, she was also her hypewoman. Even if she didn’t agree with her on the first part, Nico knew that she had something ready in store to prove that she deserved to be under her tutelage.

“It’s exactly what I want,” Nico said as she put her lipstick down and faced Tsubasa, seeing the large powder puff in her hand. Nico closed her eyes, and she felt a quick rush of air, and the blow on the puff, hitting her face. She recoiled after the first blow, but as Tsubasa hit her cheeks with other puffs of air, Nico grew used to it. She was going to need this if she were putting on a show. “I have my own dressing room, and I’m about to have my own performance! I even have my own costume!”

Nico stood up and admired herself in the mirror. She knew that her Halloween costume had reusability, but just the sight of her in her magical girl outfit made her smile. Even if she didn’t have the wand--something Tsubasa insisted on not bringing--she knew that she would be able to captivate the audience with her multitude of charms. Bringing a hand up to one of her pigtails, she fluffed her hair, hoping she’d be able to give them a fuller appearance; even if it were minimal, it was enough to make Nico smile.

“You look great, Nico.” Tsubasa said.

“I know I do,” Nico replied, answering Tsubasa’s reflection. “Thank you so much for doing my makeup, by the way! Don’t tell anyone that you’ve been helping me out, though. I don’t want to cheat my way up to the top.”

Tsubasa nodded. “Don’t worry, Nico. You’re not going to be selected because we’re friends. You’ll be selected only if you’re deserving of it.” She pat Nico’s back with a solid thump, one that took half the breath out of Nico. Nico turned away from Tsubasa’s reflection and towards her, an encouraging smile on her face. “If you were telling me the truth back when we first talked, rest assured that this will be the easiest thing you’ll ever do.”

“Damn right I wasn’t lying!” Nico’s smile grew, and after a few seconds of looking at Tsubasa, she balled her hands into fists. It was time for her to practice her standard idol greeting, her pose, her posture, her introduction. If she truly wanted to be an idol, she’d walk on stage as an idol, and she’d walk off stage as an idol. She turned around, faced the mirror, and threw her hands into the air, the same way she always did when she looked herself in the mirror to wake up every morning.

“Nico Nico Nii!”

Going through the motions of her greeting, they felt fresh, her hands flying through the air without any hesitation. It was like breathing to her, a second nature what filled the room with her presence. It was all about Nico, the kind of way that it should have been on stage when she was performing; she could only hope that the way she felt about herself was the way that Tsubasa felt about her when she started judging her.

She didn’t even realize Tsubasa was still in the room until she finished her movements. She looked at her with a relatively neutral expression, unphased by her actions. Perhaps she had been used to this kind of thing when she was a member of A-Rise, but that wouldn’t do. What if Erena or Anju, wanting to start solo acts, were here? She hadn’t asked about the other people who were auditioning, so it was a very real possibility that they could have been there. They were the only two people who could have scared Nico, though.

She looked away from the mirror and repeated her performance of her introduction, forcing herself a bit more to be a bit more Nico; her gestures were more pronounced and her voice was just a bit louder than it was before, as if she were yelling at herself the truths she found to be self-evident: Nico was the #1 idol in the universe. As long as she held her conviction for long enough, she hoped that she’d be able to have the rest of the world agree with her that she was indeed worthy of such a title, yet in the corner of her eye, she saw Tsubasa, with no reactive expression on her face.

Nico swallowed the slight lump in her throat. If only the crowd were easier to please.

“Don’t mind me, Nico,” Tsubasa said, acknowledging the concern in Nico’s gaze. “I understand the stress that comes with warming up.”

If only she knew that Nico was trying to impress her before the show began. Even if she said that she wasn’t going to be taking nepotistic bribes, a bit of buttering up to the judges beforehand couldn’t hurt, right? If there was going to be this conflict of interest, she might as well exploit it slightly.

After all, all was fair in the private wars of idoldom.

Tsubasa opened the door for herself, taking the first few steps outside. “Well, I’ll head to my spot in the house. You know when you come on, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nico remarked, pointing towards the piece of paper taped to the door, a schedule of people who were to perform at this audition. Nico was neither put up first nor was she put last, unable to make the first or last impression to the judges. It was almost painful that she was in the middle, but it had the least pressure. At least there was that to look forward to. If she were a few seconds faster with pointing, Tsubasa might have looked and saw the paper, but she was long gone, and the door slammed behind her, leaving Nico to once more look at her reflection.

She had plenty of time before she went on, but that time was easily used to worry. Was everything perfect? Was her hair okay, and was her blush even? A quick look-over made clear that everything was good; even with the pressures growing on her, Tsubasa’s makeup made her panicking look cute. She took a few deep breaths as she looked at herself, watching as relief filled her gaze the more she looked at herself. She needed to stop worrying.

If worrying was going to be out of the picture for her, she stood straight and took a deep breath. She reached into her purse, on top of the table, and pulled out her phone. She turned it on and, after unlocking her phone, she saw a message from Nozomi. She opened it up and read it aloud.

_Good luck, Nicocchi!_

Nozomi’s words warmed her heart. She knew the amount of hurt she put her through by not going to graduation with her, and the fact that it was able to be brought back by this concert and the message she sent felt so relieving to her. It was like it wasn’t for naught. Her fingers immediately plugged away at her screen, typing out her response message, her way to tell her just how much she appreciated the luck she was given. Knowing Nozomi, that luck was all she needed to succeed. She couldn’t lose to anyone with Nozomi’s unfathomable luck.

_Thank you so much Nozomi you have no idea what this means to me!_

As Nico sent the message, her smile grew, and she put her phone down, looking for what she was going to do next. She stood up straight and realized that it was on her phone. She picked it up, closed out her messages, and searched for her music. She needed to warm up her singing. Her dancing and outfits would mean nothing if her singing was cracky and bad. People would go to her concerts, but being an idol also meant _albums_ , _singles_ , chart placements. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, as if she were yawning, and let out a pitch.

She sang a descending scale, then another one a semitone higher. She repeated that sequence, raising the scale that she sang, until she hit the very highest pitch in her range in her chest. Even then, she transitioned into her falsetto range without any bit of hassle. It was difficult keeping her tone as she focused on having a lighter pitch with the extended range, and it only took her a few more notes before she stopped her warmup. She knew that she didn’t need to worry about going any higher; she had gone at least a perfect fifth above the highest note in her song. 

She then descended down the scales, going from that high note down to the lowest note she could hold with her pinched vocal tone. She could go lower if she wanted to, but there was no point if she couldn’t hold the voice of Nico. Maybe if she needed to do a very serious song where the character needed to be dropped, she could drop into her alto register, but for now, she stayed a soprano.

She took a few deep breaths after singing her scales; arpeggios were next, and after that were melodies and plainchants of steps and small skips that she could easily transpose, things that made sure that she was on the ball with her vocal capabilities. She didn’t want to squeak or have her voice crack or anything that made clear that she wasn’t giving it her all. Even if she could do something to excuse her idol clumsiness, she wanted to take this somewhat seriously. Tsubasa wouldn’t crack her voice during a performance like this.

Once she finished her book and knew that she was good for singing, she brought her attention to her phone, and the music files that she had upon it. Perhaps the most important one for her was an off-vocal of her song, a soft piano ballad with some light percussion to keep time; most importantly, though, she had the lyrics to heart, ones that came up immediately when Maki was on her mind. She could see her face, the firey red hair, those beautiful and somewhat squinted purple eyes. As the Maki in her mind’s lips curled up into a smile, Nico took a deep breath and started singing.

The words flowed from her like a confession, the pitch of her vocals supporting the cadence of her words the same way they did way back when they first met. The compliment, the cheers of love, the simple joy of being together and wanting to be in love with someone; it was even better knowing that she was loving Maki, someone as beautiful as her. Yet, the sight of Maki wasn’t enough for her; she wanted to express that feeling, the warmth that flowed through her whenever she thought of her, and she kept singing. She couldn’t stop until she was finished. Her message was water and her mouth the mouth of a river, with the air her ocean.

She looked in the mirror as she sang. She wanted to believe herself, to make clear that all doubts were gone during the time she performed. If she could make it true for herself, then even the most stringent of non-believers could, for a second, believe in her love and her happiness. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe she loved Maki--she loved her to death and would do anything for her--it was just that if there were any suspicions she had about her, she wanted them quashed. She sang for herself to make sure she, at every moment, loved and cherished Maki, and she thought of the dates they went on and how fun they were as she sang, convincing herself further.

Once she finished her song, though, she continued looking at herself, taking deep breaths as if she had just performed the choreography. Perhaps that was next to work on. She didn’t want to tire herself out too much, so stretching would do; her standard stretching routine would do perfectly. A few arm stretches, the one where she bent over and touched her toes, neck and shoulder rolls; things that made sure that she was loose without getting too sore or exhausted.

Even when she was finished preparing, she didn’t feel quite right. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel confident about herself. She was an idol, and confidence was her modus operandi. She would Nico Nico Nii her way out of anything she wanted to because she was that kind of unstoppable super idol. That wasn’t an issue to her; there was no way that she could have seen pride or confidence being an issue.

Rather, it was her phone. As much as she appreciated Nozomi’s text message, it was alone in wishing Nico luck. Nico’s family showed their excitement throughout the morning as Nico prepared, and Nozomi gave the text message where she transferred her spiritual power.

Wait, the phone vibrated in her hand, and a notification popped up from the top of her screen. It was from Nozomi.

 _I’m sending you my spiritual power_.

Okay; now she had Nozomi’s spiritual power, but that wasn’t what concerned Nico at all. It was the lack of a Maki message on top of the list. Her friends and family were as supportive as ever, but what about her girlfriend? Was Maki even in the hall? Did she have her ticket on her? She knew about those kinds of romantic comedies where on a special day, the lead forgave the love interest, and she was not going to let her be treated that way. It was inexcusable. It would be like if she didn’t go to a piano recital she was attending. She was supposed to support her until the very end, and it just felt like it wasn’t going to happen.

Then her phone vibrated in her hand again, and it showed a message from Maki.

_Sorry! I had a bit of an argument with my parents, but I’m finally here!_

Nico’s eyebrows furrowed as she read the message. Of course it was the parents. It was never not the parents when it came to Maki. They were probably the reason why there would be no more recitals that Maki would be performing at, ones that Nico had honestly been excited to go to once she saw the ability of Maki’s hands at a keyboard. It was inexcusable to deny her so much, but at the very least, she was there, and she was excited. Even if she went onstage and her expression was quite muted and impossible for her to read, she knew from the bottom of her heart that she’d be excited to watch.

She had to be thankful of the seven-minute delay before the show began, if only because it let Maki get in. Looking at the clock in the corner of her phone, she was surprised to see that the show had actually begun, but it didn’t matter; even as the thumping of the bass from performers before her filled the dressing room, she tried her best not to care. What mattered to her was that she was going to be able to perform in front of her girlfriend. Putting her phone down, it was time to relax, and perhaps hear a bit of what the competition had in store for her.

At least the music wasn’t on the level of A-Rise. Perhaps Tsubasa knew that going in that she would be able to crush the competition and she didn’t perform as an act of goodwill, but the news of the audio quality that she was hearing, at least, from this performer, was one that ensured that Nico could rest assured that her music was at the very least good enough to captivate some of the hearts of the judges, even if it were only Tsubasa. Perhaps it would have been smart to see who the other judges were, but it was too late; she was just in her room, waiting for an emcee to open the door and direct her towards the stage.

Nico listened to pauses in music. She listened to the bassy off-vocals of original songs that didn’t sound like that much to her, the kinds of songs that sounded like they would leave an impression that would only last until the singer got off stage and everyone wondered who was next on the program. It was something that made Nico feel certain about herself, the mix of tunes sounding almost too discordant from where she was. She knew that her song was so much better than the rest of them, and she knew that there were probably tens of people in dressing rooms nearby who thought the exact same thing, but they were completely wrong. Nico was undoubtedly going to win this, even if she didn’t have Tsubasa’s blessings.

And then, after more than enough time had passed, the door opened, and peeking in was a face that Nico could only call soft. The figure had been clad in all black, but it seemed off, even if it was cute how she looked in it. It seemed almost restrictive, and her voice was almost chirping in Nico’s ears as she spoke.

“Yazawa Nico?” She asked.

“It’s Nico Nii!” Nico argued, but it was responded to with a cute, high-pitched chuckle.

“You’ll be on next,” she said, extending an arm past the door to beckon her closer. It worked, and soon enough Nico was grabbing the door, pulling it open for herself, and leading behind the black-clad woman.

The more Nico studied her, the cuter she seemed. It was a wonder why women like her weren’t going on stage herself. Perhaps she had found a different calling and never considered it. With her looks, she seemed like someone who could go into fashion if she really wanted to. She was easy on the eyes, enough so that with every turn through the maze of corridors that led up to the backstage of the auditorium, there was only one place that Nico focused: her long, ashen hair, her soft, droopy eyes.

“Here you go!” The figure said, and Nico responded to her with a smile.

“Thank you so much!” She said as she looked at the heavy metal door, and she stayed there, wondering if the woman was going to open it up for her. Perhaps it was because there was music already playing, blaring, heated and passionate and music that actually seemed like it would be a challenge to go up against. It intimidated Nico slightly, but it fired her up even more, knowing that this wasn’t going to be some competition where she could walk on, botch her performance, and win for no reason.

Nico had to try.

Once the music on-stage ended, Nico could feel her heart pounding in her chest, desperate for escape. Bringing a hand to her chest, feeling her racing pulse, she took long, deep breaths, inhaling, pausing, exhaling, pausing. It was really about to happen; she was going to be on stage, for an audience, as an idol. She had her best outfit on, was warmed up, and she was ready.

She heard the applause from the audience even through the heavy door, even before it had been opened by the stagehand. Once it opened, she could hear the full volume of the applause; it was thunderous at the very least, like the entire house had been singing along to a song that had existed only two minutes ago. Nico knew that she would be able to tackle something like this, and that she’d be able to conquer this. She’d get an even louder applause than the other idol, no matter what.

Once the idol before her came out, it was clear that Nico would best her in an audition. Sure, she might have been taller, and stronger-looking, and bustier, and sexier overall in an outfit that bared midriff, but what Nico had was her cuteness, her pale skin, her character, her charisma. She had everything she needed to become the best idol in the world, and once the other idol was some distance away from the door, she looked at her, gave her a quick nod as if she was responding to her being wished luck (which the other idol never gave) and stepped on-stage, crossing the treacherously dark backstage area before sauntering onstage.

Nico turned to face the audience for a few seconds, scouting out the area and searching, particularly, for a few faces that would be helpful in supporting her. In the middle of the house she had been able to find a row of faces just like hers--her family was there, and next to them was Nozomi, standing up as she clapped and hollered. She was honestly surprised that she didn’t bring light sticks, but maybe that was a part of idol culture that she simply didn’t tell Nozomi about. Regardless, it was all enough to put a large smile on Nico’s face.

She looked down, towards the front rows, and there sat the most important person, one whose presence gave Nico a wave of excitement and strength. It might have been Nozomi’s spiritual power who coursed through her, but it was Maki’s presence that let that power work inside of her, that power flowing through her and making her smile grow even wider than it did before, all without aching. She was ready, she was more than ready, and she made it clear in one utterance.

“ _Nico Nico Nii!_ ”

* * *

Nico’s performance felt like a blur that she couldn’t remember even when she was singing and dancing. It was like her body had a mind of its own during the entirety of her performance, and her words followed. She couldn’t remember the snappiness of her choreography or the cadence of her voice or even if she cracked once or twice or hopefully zero times. All that indicated that she had, at some point, danced on the stage was the sweat on her brow and her soft panting to herself; it was hot on that stage, so even the most basic of choreography would have left her slightly breathless.

That, and the applause.

Overwhelming would barely begin to describe the applause that filled the room. Perhaps it had been the wave of energy going throughout the audition, but once her song came to an end, people were standing, the entire audience roaring and clapping and screaming for Nico. Maki was standing, and her family was almost impossible to see due to the rows of people ahead of them also standing; she could tell, though, that her family was there, standing, applauding, happy to see Nico on the stage she deserved.

Even if it came to no surprise that this had happened--Nico was the #1 idol in the world, after all--it warmed her heart to know that she was able to get her message across to an entire auditorium. It had been one thing for her to be able to do this for her family, for her closest friends, for Maki, but there were others there, too, others whom she didn’t know, a public that would judge her more harshly because they didn’t know her outside of her being an idol and would only support her as an idol. But yet, those people were applauding and standing and causing as much of a ruckus as Nozomi did when she got on stage. Nico could only do one thing, and it was leave her position and give a long bow, thanking them for taking the time out of their days to come and listen to her perform, even if there were other people they probably came to watch.

Once she had left the stage and went through the backstage area, she was outside, in the hall, where that woman who led her to the stage was with a different idol, one who was also taller than Nico. She looked at Nico with a bit of confusion, like someone so small could seriously leave that much of an impact, but she thought nothing of it. Taking a few steps away from the door so that the other idol could enter, she said one thing before heading back to her changing room to unwind.

“Good luck.”

She didn’t necessarily need the chauffeur to lead her back to her changing room, but she didn’t mind the company, either, especially as she seemed at a loss for words. She was supposed to be ready for anything and everything that an idol concert at a local level could provide, but as Nico walked, she led the way, with the person who was supposed to be guiding her a few steps behind. She had accepted that she wasn’t going to be at her level. Call it cocky, but she had found her place behind her. Even if she wanted to be an idol, she’d have Nico to challenge her.

It was a great feeling, one that she could easily see herself getting drunk off of, especially with how demure the staff member was. She seemed much eager to talk before, but that was gone, and in its place was, as she looked back at her to examine her expression, her lips seemed willing to stay sealed. If she could quiet down the smacking of her feet to let Nico’s reverberate throughout the halls unaccompanied, Nico knew that she’d do that as well to pay her respects.

She felt so cocky when she put it that way, but there was no other way she felt she could put it. Nico, diminutive in stature, in bra size, in the size of her wallet, from some small school that was now lacking a first year class, had a shot of making it to the top. Nico, the girl who ended up ostracizing an entire idol group and made a club for herself to linger in, discussing idols and watching lives from the best of the best, would soon become an inspiration for idols after her, telling the world that the idols were not just the elites, the UTX students and the people who had vocal coaches on standby.

She had fought the beautiful and perfect, and she was on the way to winning. Her humble beginnings were no longer a detriment. She was a home-grown success story, one which didn’t rest on the coattails of Mama’s or Papa’s money with an audition that had been bought out. Whether or not she won the audition, she knew for sure that she must have captured to some extent Tsubasa’s interest, and the security of a position as an idol under her agency she hoped was as guaranteed as she believed it to be.

She didn’t need to be on the level of Maki’s parents in terms of status to finally be equals with them if she got the agency job, though, and that was something that Nico would gladly laugh to the bank if it were true. Even if it were an incredibly petty reason, just the thought of being able to have Maki and have the life quality to ensure that they couldn’t say no filled her with a good amount of glee.

Perhaps it was that glee that made her so willing to be so cocky about her joy, and it showed in the way she sauntered and the way she smiled at the volunteer as she opened Nico’s door. It felt like to actually have an entourage and part of her wanted to pull out a bill as a tip like she was in some movie; it was unfortunate for her that she didn’t have a single pocket on her outfit. Alas, a vocalized statement of her appreciation would do, and once she stepped into the changing room and turned the lights on, she found the nearest chair and sat down with a long, drawn-out, and dramatic sigh.

She had finally done it; she had done her life’s goal and made a lasting impression. Perhaps she had actually found her way into stardom, the world that she wanted to see. It was her way out of normalcy, her way to show to the world that she was deserving of being an idol. There were so many words, so many feelings that overwhelmed her, and it was difficult for her to even begin treading ground on her emotions. Never did she think that her goals of being an idol would be as close to her as they were, able to be grabbed just by curling her fingers tightly and hoping that she didn’t let go.

Thus, she looked at herself in the mirror and tilted her head, giving herself a much more innocent smile than the ones she gave before. She didn’t need the bravado when she could revel in the excitement of actually accomplishing her goals. Even if the rush of being able to compare herself with giants made her feel tall--which was a luxury for her--the acknowledgement of a long-standing goal in her life finally being accomplished, getting through the sleepless nights of figuring songs out, the grind of performing and dealing with people who told her she’d never make it: it was so relieving. It was oddly soothing, and the layers of schadenfreude she felt would never compare to that soothing feeling. It didn’t matter that she made it this far practically herself; she _made it_ this far, and that innocent smile reflected her pride.

She deserved it, she believed. Unless there was anyone else that could match up to her, which she wasn’t hearing through the muddled bass, she’d be set and win at least some sort of award. That was all she could do at the moment, though; she could listen and she could hope that there wasn’t anyone that could top her musical mastery, and even then, she could only hear a muddled variant from behind the layers of walls and hallway.

Perhaps it was wrong of her to get so cocky, but she wanted a break; she just got through the hardest audition of her life and there was legitimately a chance that she had her dream job given to her later in the day. She wanted to check her phone, but she knew that there was no intermission and no chance for Nozomi or Maki or Mama to type something out about how proud they were of her. She didn’t need to check either; she knew how happy they were with her already.

After all, Nico was a good idol. She wasn’t just a good school idol anymore. School was behind her, and so were the limitations that it held. If that opening performance was anything to go by, it was clear that she would be the one.

All she needed to do was wait until the end of the show to get her crown.

* * *

Nico hadn’t realized how many people were auditioning until she was asked to return to the stage.

As much as she had appreciated the amenities of having an entire changing room to herself, it was something that made her wonder about how many changing rooms this place must have had. It would have made sense if there were like five or ten people auditioning, but as she stood in the center of the row of idols on stage, the overwhelming heat of the stage lights was amplified by the amount of bodies she stood next to. She looked to her left and saw that the amount of people reached out towards the edge of the stage. To her right was much of the same, another densely-packed line of people, basically shoulder-to-shoulder with each other, extending as far out as the stage could physically allow. Without a second row, it was almost a miracle that they all fit.

Even with how crammed the place was, it wasn’t necessarily that made her heart race, nor was it the heat that led to her sweating. It was seeing the three judges standing up, with Tsubasa in the center and two large, hulking men who seemed intimidating and business-like clad in big suits. They looked official, and they made Tsubasa’s presence even more imposing than Erena or Anju could ever dream to make her look. And these three were going to be directing her life if she won, and they would have left her to dry as she looked for another audition if she lost.

Even if there were no way for her to lose, her heartbeat was enough that if there were any drumroll going on for dramatic effect, she wouldn’t have heard it. She had been caught up in her own little world, one where she had to face the music of her performance hoping that she had done a job with enough quality that she passed. Every second felt like an eternity and her arms grew heavier with every second she had to wait, something which she could feel throughout the rest of the line of idols and to some extent the audience wanting to hear exactly who passed.

Perhaps an open audition did have its drawbacks, especially considering the notion of failure would have been broadcast to her loved ones. It would have been heard by Nozomi and her family and her Mama, but most importantly, it would have been heard by Maki, to whom she sang her song.

What didn’t help things was Tsubasa’s smile, one that made clear that she was enjoying the simmer, the drama from the audible collective heartbeats of the idols racing against one another as they wanted to know what the results were. Even for someone who was used to the shows performed by A-Rise and frequented them, the cold, calculated demeanor Tsubasa had in withholding the information she had on her--the victor--seemed almost overbearing. It was like she was making it into a performance in and of itself, with the slight quirks in her smile and the way her fingers drummed along the envelope in her hands. It was like she was treating this much more than just a local audition and more like it was a national or even international award. It was so cruel, and Nico wanted to call Tsubasa out on it, but what if she did and picked up another letter, one which had a name that wasn’t her own in it? That threat was enough to keep her quiet, albeit with balled fists of rage towards her possible new manager.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Finally, Tsubasa spoke. “I know that you are all here today to witness the audition of all these lovely idols!”

Roaring applause filled the auditorium, enough that Nico bowed in appreciation; what would an idol be without her loving audience? She looked down at the ground, seeing the shadows in her peripheral vision mirroring her motion, each finding their own time to bow. They followed her lead, as they should have; she was the visionary idol between them all, the one who was destined to win, and the more she thought it, the more she knew it would be true.

Nico stood up, and the rest of the idols followed, returning their attention to Tsubasa, whose fingers were already drumming against the top of the envelope, not wishing to ruin the seal but instead digging her fingertips into the paper and letting the resulting sound of paper tearing fill the auditorium. It must have been the quietest sound that Nico had to deal with all day, but somehow it felt like the loudest. It was an unveiling of an idol’s destiny, and all she wished was that said idol was herself. She could feel that feeling radiating through the rest of the idols, but she felt it in herself the most.

She deserved this victory.

“The judges have come to this decision with me, and although there were plenty of amazing acts that I’ve seen, I feel like there’s one that has stood above and beyond the rest of them, one that I could see becoming a very successful idol in the future.”

Nico looked in her peripherals, studying the outfits of the idols around her. There must have been a few groups, a few people who weren’t solo idols; matching outfits would be helpful in ruling those people out, but the more she searched, the more she realized she was wasting her time. Tsubasa was about to say who the winner was anyway.

“The winner is: Nico Nii!”

Applause and hollering filled the auditorium once more, not only from the audience, but from Nico’s immediate left and right, the people who were most eager to take the spot that she had rightfully earned now having to deal with the unpleasant reality that Nico had taken their spot from them. It must have hurt for the rest of everyone else, even if they were clapping an applause that was clearly self-councilatory. She knew that if she were in the shoes of anyone else there, she would have felt a bit of panging, a slight ache that reminded her that she hadn’t won.

But she was in her shoes, the shoes of the winner, and even as she was shocked to hear that she won, she could feel the denial wearing off. She had won it; it was hers to have won and she did it.

Nico looked at the crowd. Some people were standing, and among those she knew were her family, Nozomi, and Maki. Nozomi hollered and clapped quickly, knowing firsthand the amount of time that Nico had spent working on her craft. Her family was not far behind, with her siblings jumping up and down in joy knowing that Nico had finally accomplished her goal. Even Maki, as unemotive as she was, gave a slow clap with a smile adorning her face. Perhaps she didn’t know how much she fought to get to where she was, but she was glad Maki knew at least some of the struggle.

She made it, and nothing could change that now. She had finally reached the crossroads of her destiny and there was no way that she was going to try to fight it; there was no reason to fight it. There was a spotlight beckoning her; or rather, as the room darkened, a spotlight shone on her, her presence commanding the light to be centered on her. It was her spotlight, her time to shine and gloat and showcase with a bow how much it meant to her to be the one that was chosen, all towards an audience who had all eyes on her now. It was her world and she was going to enjoy it for every second she possibly could.

It got even better once Tsubasa walked onto the stage and entered the spotlight, the other figure that stood tall in its beacon. With a microphone in her hand and the opened letter in the other, she looked at Nico with a congratulatory smile, one that ensured that she hadn’t stacked the deck in her favor and she had earned it fair and square. Her smile grew as her eyes locked with Tsubasa’s, and she stayed still as she drew herself closer to her, until she was right next to her.

“And, for being the winner of this audition,” Tsubasa began, “Nico Nii will have a record deal where she gets to perform three singles as well as a tour of lives!”

That form of encouragement further emboldened Nico. She had lives and singles to perform now? This was amazing, far better than what she thought the audition would be for. This wasn’t just something that she could put on her resume; it _was_ her resume now, the achievements she needed in order to get a job. No longer was she not in education or employment; she was employed by Tsubasa’s label for three songs, more than enough for her to get a start and perhaps even more if her singles were as successful as her performance at this concert.

Maybe she could have been a live performer, too. She had plenty of concerts, apparently, and the one she had just performed lit up this high school auditorium like it was nothing. She probably could have done the same for Budakhan if she really wanted to push herself. After all, she had taken the first step, and if she kept walking, she’d eventually get there. There was no way that it wasn’t a plan that could happen. And once she made Budakhan burn, she could head to the Akiba Dome to perform.

All of it was so overwhelming, but all of it Nico welcomed with open arms and teary eyes. She really couldn’t believe she made it this far, and this was only the beginning.

“Give it up once more for Nico Nii!” Tsubasa said, and the applause roared once more, the clapping growing infinitely louder to a point where it almost overwhelmed Nico. Even if it were something that she didn’t think she’d be overwhelmed by, just the sound of the entire auditorium screaming and yelling, the clapping from idols and audience members alike with no beginning or end, was a lot for her to process. It was hard enough for her to take in that she had songs to perform and a live schedule, not to mention that she won the contest. It all kept churning in her mind, and the wave of happiness that crashed through her was almost euphoric.

Thus, she took the microphone from Tsubasa’s hand, ready to make an impromptu speech.

“Thank you everyone for coming! Nico Nii loves all of you!”

That earned a roar from the audience, one that was short-lived enough for her to remember what she wanted to say.

“I’d like to thank all of you for coming out tonight, and I’d especially like to thank my family and my best friend Nozomi! Can y’all stand up, please?”

At the cue, they stood up, and they were met with an applause led none other by Nico herself, one that she encouraged to go on longer than the one before it. Nico watched giddily as Nozomi and Nico’s family enjoyed their time in the sun before sitting down, and then Nico took a few steps forward, the spotlight following her.

“I’d also like to thank my girlfriend, Maki, for coming out here! Will you stand up, Maki?”

“Ehhh!?”

After a stunned silence, Maki stood up, not wishing to look Nico in the eye. Her face was flushed red with embarrassment, and not the kind that Nico could laugh at. It was the first time in a long time that Maki didn’t seem cute or beautiful in her eyes. It was uncomfortable to look at her like that. She really wished that Maki could lighten up a bit about this; she just wanted to show her appreciation, and she didn’t realize it would make her so angry. She simply looked at Maki, the disgust in her eyes apparent during the few glances that they shared, and Nico stepped back the moment Maki sat down, the only motion she performed with some level of weight.

“She’s kinda shy, but she’s really grateful!” Nico said, trying to control the damage, and she could see Maki’s expression telling her that she did not feel grateful about being embarrassed in public like that, but hey, it was good enough damage control that she could hear an earful about it in the dressing room, in private.

Throughout the rest of the applause, Nico looked at Maki, hoping that her expression would change to some extent. Even if she meant to put her in the spotlight the way she did, she really hoped that Maki realized that she meant well. Had she known it would lead to something like this, she wouldn’t have done it. Blame the popularity, the idol status that was just bestowed upon her and her capitalizing on it in the moment. It just hurt her more than she could say to see that Maki wasn’t applauding her.

Nico dejectedly took another bow, taking in the applause, not caring that there was a distinct lack of Maki in the cheering. She gave her best idol smile as she bowed, though, giving the audience more of what they wanted from her; the cheery happy idol that sang love songs for them. She wanted each of them to feel that the smile was for them in particular, that the one smile was directed exactly towards one person but that one person being different for everyone.

For Nico, it was the one person who didn’t smile back, and for Maki, who knew why Nico wanted to smile at her outside of an apology. Maki seemed like she wanted to shake her head and tell Nico she didn’t understand, but she wouldn’t do it to someone who was onstage. She should have been focusing on the crowd that hooted and hollered. Yet, Nico couldn’t move her eyes away from Maki until the corners of her lips curled up into a smile, and even then it felt like she did that just to get Nico’s attention elsewhere.

As the applause died down for a second time, it became clear that the applause had reached its end, and as Tsubasa waved the house out, the line of idols started to fan out and off of the stage. Nico watched, turning her head from left to right, as she examined the idols leaving, leaving her behind, leaving the concert and contest alike behind. Nico couldn’t let go of that moment, even as members of the house stood up and slipped out from their rows of seats.

The furthest away from her seat was Maki, and Nico knew it wasn’t because of excitement that they could find time to talk to each other. Nico turned away and started taking steps away from the center of the stage, giving one last scan to her first live stage as an idol: not even Tsubasa stood there. She was alone on stage, and not in the way she wished to be.

Once Nico was off-stage and outside of the backstage area, the illuminating light of the hallways made clear a group of people expectantly waiting for her to be where she was: Nico’s family stood there, with the kids bouncing on their toes while her mother had a wide smile on her face. Next to her mother was the “aunt” of the family, Nozomi, who not only held Cotaro’s hand in her own, but held her other hand outstretched, as if to invite Nico into a warm, friendly hug, one that she immediately leapt into.

“Woah, Niccochi,” Nozomi cooed as she wrapped her arm tightly around Nico, “I didn’t know you were wanting a hug so badly.”

Nico pulled away from Nozomi slightly, as much as she could from Nozomi’s overbearing arm strength holding her in. “Hey, what can I say?” Nico remarked, her smile wide. “You _did_ hear what Tsubasa said, right?”

“Of course I did, Nicocchi! She was smart in giving ya the prize!”

“You were amazing out there, Nico,” her mother chimed in. “I know how much this means to you, and I’m glad that the judges were able to feel it.”

“Awesome, Nico! That was so awesome!” Small arms wrapped around her waist. Cocoa. It was followed by another set of arms. Cocoro. Nico moved her arms from Nozomi to her siblings, bringing them into the hug, making sure that Cotaro was even a part of it. It felt so nice having them all so close to her, eagerly celebrating the victory at hand. Even if it meant that Nozomi pulled away from the hug, just being able to hold her siblings, and for her siblings to see Nico as the idol she always told them she was, warmed her heart to a degree she had difficulty expressing in words.

Nozomi didn’t stray too far, though. She pulled out her phone and, once Nico was done hugging her siblings, pointed the camera in Nico’s face. “Can I get a few pictures of ya to celebrate your victory?”

Nico nodded, and she stood tall, letting her siblings stand in front of her. Nico gave Nozomi a wide smile, curling her middle and ring fingers and twitching them, as if preparing for her signature hand gestures. There was nothing more fitting for the picture than them, in her opinion.

“On the count of three!” Nozomi said. “One, two, three, Nico Nico Nii!”

“Nico Nico Nii!” said the Yazawa kids, all in unison, led by none other than Nico, who even went through the standard hand motions. There was no other way for her to do her signature catchphrase, and her hands found her temples, fingers extending almost like bunny ears. She didn’t care if the siblings were mirroring her, although she expected them to do so. After a few clicks filling the space between them, Nozomi brought her phone down and she looked down at the screen, letting herself see the pictures that she had just taken.

“I’ll text some of these to you, Nicocchi. They look adorable, though!” 

“Of course they do,” Nico said. “I have the cutest siblings in the world!”

After a few more hugs from the siblings, along with coos and thanks for calling her cute, they scrambled towards their mother, who now had Nozomi’s phone in her hand. Judging by how Nozomi sauntered over to Nico, she was next to take pictures with her.

Nozomi towered over Nico once she stood next to her, something that Nico was familiar with, but there was something so weird about it, like the attention would be put on Nozomi. She looked older and more mature, more like an idol, and this was supposed to be _Nico’s_ time to shine, not Nozomi’s. Thus, she gave Nozomi a quick command.

“Bend your knees.”

“Aye-aye, Nico Nii!” Nozomi giggled, bending her knees until she was at about the same height as her.

“You two ready?” Nico’s mother asked, and Nozomi and Nico alike turned their attention to her, each flashing her smiles. Nico nodded. “One, two, three, Nico Nico Nii!”

Nozomi and Nico said the catchphrase in unison, and in the corner of her eye, while she was moving her hands into position, she could see Nozomi mirroring her. She had to hold back the laughter bubbling inside of her. Seeing Nozomi do it, even if most of the time felt a bit weird, felt so relieving to see, like Nozomi was doing it less to tease her and more to support her. It was that time in her life where it wasn’t a joke anymore, and the sight of Nozomi performing her move was just so warming.

Once the pictures were taken, and Nico’s mother gave Nozomi her phone, Nico left her position and turned her attention to Nozomi. “Do you know where Maki is?”

“I saw her when I was trying to find ya.” Nozomi replied. “She was walking outside. I think that if you run to the front entrance, you can probably find her. Why do ya ask?”

Nico kicked the ground. “I want to apologize for what I did onstage!”

“Oh, that.” Nozomi replied, giving a slight shrug. “I guess you could text her and let her know how you feel.”

“You have a girlfriend, Nico?” Cocoa asked.

Nico nodded. “She’s the sweetest and most beautiful girlfriend I could ever ask for!”

Nico’s mother smiled. “That’s great. How come you haven’t told us about her yet?”

Nico shrugged. “I thought you’d want me to have a boyfriend.”

Nico’s mother tilted her head. “That doesn’t matter to me, Nico. As long as you live a happy life, I can’t complain about the small details.”

Perhaps it was from her mother that she got the carefree nature that she had, even if it weren’t to extent that Nozomi had, but hearing that come from her mother, that she was fine with having Maki as a girlfriend, filled Nico with joy, enough for her to run to her mother and entrap her with her arms, squeezing tightly. “Thank you! Thank you!” Nico cooed, repeating her statements of thanks several more times before she realized that she had one thing left to do, something that she couldn’t do if she was too busy with her arms around her mother.

“I need to find her! Stay here!” She said as she pulled away from her mother and ran throughout the halls, finding her way through the maze-like institution of UTX. If only she were a student and knew all the shortcuts, instead of having to pause for a few seconds at a time to read signs that would lead the parents towards the audition, but in reverse.

Eventually, she found her way to the door, and out in front was Maki, standing there, underneath the awning. Nico kicked off her shoes and ran outside barefoot, not necessarily caring that it was improper; the amount that she would do to have Maki by her side was something she was willing to test again and again. She wanted her to know just how much she loved her.

“Maki-chan!” Nico yelled out, loudly enough to get Maki’s attention. Maki flushed red and looked away, but that wasn’t enough for Nico to be deterred. She wrapped her arms tightly around Maki and hugged her, not caring about the squeal that came from Maki’s lips. Once their gazes met, it was cutesy against annoyed, the kind of look Maki gave Nico being able to kill if it weren’t for Nico’s happiness disarming her.

“What do you want, Nico-chan!?” Maki asked.

“I want to apologize for what I said in there,” Nico replied, “about showing you off as my girlfriend.”

“Eh!?” It was like Maki had already tried to forget, and Nico brought salt upon the open parts of the wound. She flushed even redder and brought a hand to her hair, distracting herself from Nico’s statement just enough for her to ask about it. “Why did you do that, Nico-chan?”

“Well,” Nico said, pulling away from Maki and bringing her hands to her hips. “I wanted the world to know just how much you helped me in becoming an idol. You know that song I sang?”

“It was the exact same one you sang to me when we met. What about it?” Maki asked.

“What about it!?” Nico repeated her question, the annoyance from Maki finally starting to rub off on her. “I sang that song to you when I was on-stage. You gave me the confidence to actually be up there and sing! I wanted the world to know that!”

“Eh!?” Maki’s questioning moan was even louder. “J-just because you sang to me doesn’t mean you had to put me in the spotlight in front of the audience! And what if my parents learned about this, that I’m dating an idol and not some guy who wants to go into pre-med? They’d kill me!”

“I’d tell them to let me deal with them!” Nico remarked, grabbing onto Nico’s wrist. “On that topic, my family wants to get to know you better!”

“I don’t get you, Nico-chan!” She exclaimed, pulling her hand out from Nico’s grasp. “I really don’t get you!”

“Maki-chan,” Nico said, reaching for an arm she was never going to grab. “Maybe you don’t, but I want to get to know you better. Don’t you want to understand me too, Maki-chan?” Nico tilted her head slightly, gave Maki a smile, and tried to get her eyes to twinkle like she was on stage, trying her best to force Maki’s hand slightly, even if the amount was just enough for her hand to meet Nico’s own.

Alas, it didn’t happen quite yet. Maki’s hand hadn’t found Nico’s, and thus, it just felt like a useless chase between their hands, one that Nico eventually stopped by bringing her hand to her side, letting the whole farce stop between them. Maki turned away slightly from Nico, as if to hide the flush that further covered her face, and her finger sped up in her hair, trying its best to showcase the waves of embarrassment that just being around Nico seemed to fill inside of her. Nico stepped slightly towards Maki, trying her best to see the expression she wanted to hide from her.

Maki shook her head. “I don’t get you,” she mumbled. It was going to be a miracle to get Nico to convince her that meeting family was a good idea. Perhaps it was because Maki already had an idea of what a family was supposed to be like, but yet again, this was a family that denied Maki the lower-class luxury of fast food. Certainly, Maki should have realized that they were enough of a world apart to know that her family wasn’t going to be how it was between Nico and her family. As much as Nico would hate to bring it up, there was enough of a difference between their families that Maki actually had two parents, and not a mom, Nico, and Aunt Nozomi.

“That’s the thing, Maki-chan,” Nico tried again. “You don’t get me, and I don’t get you either. I want to bridge that gap so much, you don’t even know. Part of me wondered why being an idol was a worthwhile goal, but knowing that your family’s going to stop you from marrying unless you find someone successful, it put a lot of perspective into why I want to be a success.”

Maki turned away, but that didn’t stop Nico from continuing. She had something to say, and Maki was going to _hear_ what was on her mind.

“I want to be a success because I want to be with you, Maki-chan, and now I’m closer now than I’ve ever been!” Nico yelled. “I do this because I love you!”

That was enough to get not only an “Eeh!?” from Maki, one that she was used to, but enough for Maki to turn around enough so that she was looking at Nico, her expression a mixture of gratitude and disgust at the mere notion of what she had just said. It was clear that Nico had put her in the middle of a long gamble, and as flattering as it was, she wanted to make sure that Nico knew that there were a few issues that she’d have to deal with.

“But what about my parents?” Maki asked, her voice soft. “What if they don’t like you?”

“Who doesn’t love the great Nico Nii?” Nico asked, her question almost sputtered out. It was a ridiculous idea, but Maki’s expression made clear that she wasn’t interested in playing games like this.

“My parents don’t care about popular music.” Maki huffed. “This was my first idol concert. They think it’s stupid, and if they hear that I’m going out with one, they’ll think I’m delusional. They want me to end up with a doctor, and you’re not interested in being one. What makes me think that they’ll kowtow to your desires to marry me, Nico-chan?”

It took a few seconds for Nico to figure out her response. “Because I love you, and I don’t give a fuck what your parents think about me being an idol.”

Maki’s eyebrows furrowed. That apparently wasn’t the answer that Maki had in mind. “I’m serious, Nico-chan. They’re going to have a fit and you saying that only makes me think they’ll want you out of the family as soon as you join.”

Nico sighed. “Well, that’s all I have to say about it. I love you. Now, what about you? Do you love me back?”

Maki nodded. “I do, Nico-chan, but--”

“Do you love me enough that you’re willing to disregard what your parents think? Isn’t that why you went to that party, why you went on those dates, why you’re here, with me, right now?” Nico extended an arm towards Maki, not as a gesture of wanting to grab Maki for herself, but as an olive branch, one that Maki would have to take for herself if she were serious about what she had in mind. She was going to be the one who had to take her destiny in her hands, exactly how it should have been. As long as Maki came back to her, it was clear that she loved her enough to disregard her parents’ thoughts. Eventually, they’d come around to it.

Slowly, but surely, Nico’s disarming question, despite how red it made Maki’s face, led to their hands resting against one another, with Nico taking the initiative to slip her fingers in between Maki’s, holding them tight. Nico smiled and nodded, knowing that she had disarmed her enough to have her do this, and to rub it in, she pressed herself up against Maki, her smile growing a bit more.

“Thank you, Maki-chan,” she cooed in a very syrupy voice, one that was probably interpreted by Maki as too saccharine for her own good, and she tugged at Nico’s hand, as if wanting freedom from what she had just heard, a freedom which Nico’s squeezing hand didn’t give her as easily as she expected. “I really appreciate it!”

It was less time for Maki to fight, and more for her to cave in, the icy exterior finally showing cracks that proved it was melting under the warmth of Nico’s sunny smile, as it should have been in the beginning. “You’re welcome, Nico-chan?” Her words were more of a question than an answer, but she didn’t know how she was going to be proper in this exchange; it was one that Nico gave her no real path to take but the one that Nico herself wanted to take. She had to curse Nico’s charisma, the charm that led her down such a path even if it felt oddly forced for her. It was good enough, though, that when Nico pulled Maki towards the school so that she could eventually return backstage, Maki followed her, only pausing once they entered the school so Nico could once more put on her shoes.

It didn’t take too long for Nico and Maki to find the rest of Nico’s family, and Nozomi tagging along. Nico’s mother had Cotaro’s and Cocoa’s hands, while Nozomi held Cocoro’s hand until they saw them. From there, Cocoro left Nozomi and ran to Nico, giving her a big hug. Nico bent down and wrapped her arms around her sister, her smile large on her face.

“Nico!” Cocoro said before pulling away and giving Maki a curious look for a few seconds. “Is this your girlfriend?”

“Eh!?” Maki asked, standing straight like a pin had been shoved in her backside. Maki blushed, but thankfully Nico was there to answer her siblings’ questions for Maki.

“Indeed, this is my girlfriend!”

“She’s so pretty,” Cocoa commented.

“Pretty…” Cotaro mumbled, tugging on his mom’s sleeve while pointing at Maki, as if to ensure her attention was on Maki.

Nozomi tilted her head slightly, giggles leaking from her lips. “Well, damn, Nicocchi,” she said, “you found yourself a cute girlfriend here.”

“Come on, Nozomi!” Maki snapped in Nozomi’s direction. “You _knew_ that Nico-chan and I were going out! Why are you acting surprised!?”

“I’m teasing,” Nozomi replied, her smile on her face immune to Maki’s glares.

“Anyway,” said Nico, pulling the attention away from the argument about to happen, nudging Maki to ensure that her attention was less focused on Nozomi and more towards the rest of her family, to whom Nico was addressing. “This is Nishikino Maki-chan, my girlfriend. She goes to UTX, but we met at that Halloween party I went to with Nozomi.”

“Nishikino?” Maki’s mother asked. “Like, _the_ Nishikino?”

Maki nodded slowly.

“She’s a bit shy about it,” Nico said. “She’s at odds with her family right now.”

Maki nudged Nico with her elbow, and it actually kind of hurt. She stayed quiet about it, wondering if her mother had anything to say about it.

“Well,” her mother replied. “If you’re girlfriends with my daughter, my apartment is your apartment.” She smiled. “Welcome to the family!”

“Eh?” Maki asked, straightening up once more as she heard Nico’s mother making clear how she felt about her. She flushed red and twirled a finger in her hair.

“Maki-chan does this when she’s embarrassed.” Nico said, nuzzling up against Maki and watching that finger twirl faster in her hair. Isn’t it cute?”

“Nicocchi!” Nozomi cooed. “You’re embarrassing her in front of your family!” Of course she was. It was Maki, and she was cute especially when she was flustered, even if Maki pushing Nico away from her made clear that it was not a mutual appreciation of being embarrassed going on. That said, their fingers remained intertwined.

“You should come over sometime and have dinner with us!” Nico’s mom said. “Nico makes some really good food.”

Maki turned to face Nico with slightly furrowed brows. “Nico-chan! You said you had a private chef!”

“Did I say that?” Nico cooed, giving her a cutesy wink. “I meant to say I can be your private chef!”

Maki rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure my parents would enjoy me marrying my house staff.”

Nico and Nozomi giggled, and Nico’s mother continued. “I’m serious, though. You should have dinner with us sometime! What day works best for you?” She asked, her arms outstretched and welcoming.

“I’ll talk with Nico-chan about it,” Maki said. “I wasn’t expecting this kind of hospitality from you, honestly.”

Nico’s mom laughed. “Of course I’d be hospitable! I have so many kids to take care of, and Nico’s done such a good job in helping out around the house! It’d be a disservice if I didn’t at least pay some sort of attention to the house!”

Maki nodded slowly, and unclasped her fingers from Nico’s hand. “Hey, Nico-chan,” she said. “I have to get going. My parents are probably going to kill me if I stay around for too long.” She gave Nico’s temple a quick peck on the cheek, primarily for show, and headed off. Nico turned to her and waved her off.

“Bye, Maki-chan!” She cooed.

“Bye, Nico-chan! It was nice meeting you all!”

Once more, Nico returned her attention to her family, and gave a slight shrug. “Family issues. I’m glad we don’t have any of those.”

“Same here,” Nico’s mom said. “Now, how about we go get some hamburgers to eat? My treat!”

“Hamburgers!” The siblings said in chorus, happy to have some fast food. Nico nodded. Hamburgers would be great.

If only Maki could join them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this, I've made it to the 50k NaNoWriMo word count, and for that reason, I'll be taking a bit of a longer break on this fic. I hope you understand. 50k in a month is a lot to write and I'm really glad y'all have been enjoying this fic so far!


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